Anime Hearts
by Gijinka Renamon
Summary: Join Shotaro Kaneda and the Elric brothers as they fight the Heartless and uncover their secrets... COMPLETE!
1. Prologue: The Awakening

**_Disclaimer: _**I don't own anything you see here.

Please note that this fic may not follow the game at certain points.

**_UPDATED 6/18/06: _**Made a few changes to the very beginning so it fits the game, along with some other changes.

* * *

**_Prologue: The Awakening_**

"_I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. Like, is any of this for real or not? And if it is, how can we tell?" _

In a dark realm that stretched for miles, the figure of a boy in his late teens slowly floated downwards, invisible winds tugging at his hair and clothing. Slowly, his dark eyes flickered open, and he blankly stared up at the 'sky'.

There was a flash of light, and he found himself in a large city, its metallic canyon walls causing the sound of traffic and people's chatter to echo. Confused, he looked around wildly until he saw a boy about his own age standing on the other side of the street.

"Hey, Tetsuo!" The teen ran towards him, but out of nowhere, a huge truck zoomed past, sending up a cloud of exhaust fumes in its wake. When the smoke cleared, the boy realized that his friend was nowhere in sight!

"What the…?"

Suddenly, a flash of movement caught his eye. Spinning around, he spotted a teenage girl standing by herself in an alleyway.

"Kei!"

The girl turned at the sound of his voice, and smiled when she saw him. "Hi Kaneda."

"Did you see Tetsuo anywhere?" The boy asked. Kei just shook her head.

"No, sorry." She looked upward and exclaimed, "Look Kaneda! Shooting stars!"

He looked up, and sure enough, he could see countless comets leaving bright streaks across the darkening sky. That's when he noticed the dark object falling with him.

_What's that? _He wondered. _It kinda looks like… _His eyes widened in realization. _…Me! _

At that very moment, the earth beneath him cracked wide open, and he fell, screaming, into the dark abyss.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing on a light blue circular mosaic that depicted a red-haired girl surrounded by odd-looking creatures. 

"Where the hell am I?"

Suddenly, a loud, almost booming voice broke out through the stony silence.

"**_There is so much to do in so little time…" _**

The boy spun around, looking in every direction for the source of the voice. "What! Who's there?"

"**_Don't be afraid, the door is still shut. Now step forward." _**

"I don't know what's going on," Kaneda muttered, "But I'm going to find out!" He stepped forward, and the ground began to shake violently. "What the-!"

The boy watched in amazement as three pillars rose out of the ground. On their flat tops were a shield, a sword, and a staff.

"**_If you give it form,"_** said the voice, "It will give you power, so choose well."

"Oookay," Kaneda muttered nervously, but picked up the sword without hesitation

"**_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage, a sword of terrible destruction. Do you choose this power?" _**

Yes."

The sword vanished from his hand, and the voice continued, **_"Now what will you give up?"_** The boy walked over to the shield ands held it up. **_"This is the power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. You give up this power?" _**

Kaneda nodded, and the shield disappeared too.

"**_You've chosen the power of the warrior. You've given up the power of the guardian. Is this the power you choose?" _**

"Well duh!"

"Very well then. Now, on to your next test."

The pillars vanished, and without warning, the mosaic broke, sending him falling into the darkness.

* * *

When he came to, he realized he was now on an orange mosaic that depicted a blond-haired young woman in a red uniform with yellow buttons on the front and a long yellow scarf. Crimson roses surrounded her portrait like a halo. 

"Ok, now what?"

As if answering his question, the voice spoke out again: **_"It's time to learn how to fight. Use the power to protect others. There will be times when you have to fight, so keep your light burning strong." _**

"What the hell does that mean?" Kaneda protested, but suddenly, a movement caught his eye. Spinning around, he saw a group of small creatures walking towards him. They were about a foot tall, and were pure black with yellow eyes and had antennae on their head, and they were heading towards him with a hungry gleam in their eyes.

"Wh-what are those things?" the boy exclaimed, stumbling backwards.

"_**You have to fight…"**_

"Yeah, but how?" Just then, he noticed the sword from before lying on the ground. "Aha!" Kaneda ran towards it, ignoring the slashes on his legs, and leapt to grab the sword. He rolled over, and quickly stood up, clutching the object in his hands. The creatures seemed to shrink back at the sight of the weapon. "Alright! Now I'll show you whose boss!"

The teen ran towards them, slashing wildly until they were all gone. He then blinked when he saw a dark portal appear on the ground in front of him.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this…" The boy took a deep breath and jumped into the portal.

* * *

When he came out, he saw he was on a mosaic that had every color of the rainbow on it in swirling patterns. In the swirls were silhouettes of three figures. But what really caught the boy's attention was a door at the far end of the platform. 

"Aha! Now I can get out of here!"

He ran towards the door and started pulling on the doorknob, but to no avail.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS STUPID DOOR?"

**_"Hold on now, that door won't open yet, so just tell me about you." _**

The boy blinked when he realized he was standing in the middle of his gang's hangout with three of his friends –two boys and a girl- nearby. He walked up to his on of his friends and said "Hey Yama, I think there's something weird going on here…"

"What are you afraid of?"

"Huh?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"What are you talking-"and then it hit him. This was just an illusion. It wasn't real.

"Ok, I'll bite. I'm… afraid of getting old."

"Getting old? Is it really that scary?"

Kaneda ignored the remark and talked to the girl, Kaori.

"What's most important to you?"

This time the boy did not hesitate as he answered; "To be number one."

"Is being number one such a big deal?"

He then turned to the last boy, Kai, who asked him, "What do you want outta life?"

The teen paused for a moment, and then replied, "To be strong."

"To be strong, huh?"

Kaneda was about to reply, when the voice said,**_ "You're afraid of getting old, you want to be number one, and you want to be strong. Interesting. Very interesting." _**

Suddenly, he found himself on a pink mosaic that showed a brown-haired girl in front of an angelic-looking creature. Behind both of them was symbol that looked like a star.

"**_Your journey begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining, your adventure will be a pleasant one. The day you open the door is both far off and very near." _**

"What do you mean?"

Before the voice could answer, a group of dark creatures appeared and attacked him. The boy was able to fend them all off, but not without gaining a few scratches and cuts.

Just then, he noticed a stairway. He hurried up them and on to a mosaic that showed a dark-haired girl in a green and white school uniform. Cupped in her hands was a marble-sized pink ball, and slung over her back was a quiver of arrows. The edges of the mosaic was trimmed in vines, and in the background, the shape of a figure running could be seen.

"**_The closer you get to the light, the farther your shadow grows." _**The voice said solemnly.

Kaneda was about to ask what that meant, when he noticed a movement behind him. He spun around and watched in disbelief as his shadow actually lifted itself off the ground, then grew and shaped itself into a giant black monster with yellow eyes, tentacles on its face, and a huge hole shaped like a heart in the middle of its chest.

"Woah!" The boy stumbled backwards, and nearly fell off the edge of the platform. He gulped as he looked down into the darkness, which seemed to go on for miles. "Oh boy…" The monster roared viciously as it stomped towards him, waving its claws in the air. The boy quickly got to his feet, muttering, "I guess I have no choice…"

The monster brought one of its huge hands down, and the boy had to jump to get out of the way. "Take THIS!"

The boy slashed the sword at the monster's hand, and it staggered backwards in pain. "How do ya like that?" Then he saw dark puddles rise up and form the shadowy creatures, hereby known as Shadows. "Not these guys again!"

He managed to take them out, before the ebony giant attacked again, so Kaneda attacked it back. After repeating this process a few times, the monster let out a final cry of defeat before it vanished.

"Hah! I did it!"

Then the voice spoke up again after a long silence. **_"Very good. You truly are worthy of being the Keyblade Master!"_**

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"**_All will be revealed in time." _**

Suddenly, the boy looked down and realized he was sinking into a black circle like quicksand! He screamed as he tried to get out, but his efforts were futile.

Just as his head disappeared underneath the darkness, he heard the voice speaking.

**_"Do not be afraid. And do not forget, Shotaro Kaneda, you will be the one who will open the door…" _**


	2. Chapter 1: A Legend's Beginning

Ok, before we begin, keep in mind that the Neo-Tokyo that Kaneda and his friends live is slightly different in the sense that the events of the anime never happened. 

That's right, in this universe; there was no WWIII or Akira project or anything like that. But Kaneda and the others are still in a gang, so it's not completely different. I'm not exactly sure how that works, so please bear with me.

And two more things: One, some people may be out of character, because I'm not sure of how they act, and two, for the most part, the names and forms of the enemies will remain the same, unless I say so.

_**UPDATED 8/8/06:**_ Just added a few things, that's all.

* * *

Chapter 1: A Legend's Beginning

* * *

**_World Name: Neo-Tokyo_**

* * *

"Woah!" 

17-year old Shotaro Kaneda sat up, gasping for breath, as he glanced around the top of the old gas station.

_It was all a dream; it was all a dream… _

He spun around at the sound of giggling behind him, and saw his girlfriend Kei Nagoshi (1) looking at him and smiling.

"Aw, very funny," he said getting to his feet. Kay continued to smile.

"I knew I'd find you down here," she said with a big grin. "Lazy bum."

"Well, for your information, I just had a really bad dream."

"A bad dream?" She gave him an amused look

"Yes a bad dream! There were these shadow things and this weird voice and…" he trailed off. _Was_ it a dream? He couldn't tell.

"Well come on. The others are waiting for us."

"Oh, right." Kaneda got to his feet and followed her down the steps that led to the roof, and into the garage area.

"So…Kei…"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember what your old hometown was like?" Ten years ago, Kei had come to Neo-Tokyo from somewhere far away, but she didn't remember much about it, for some reason.

"I told you, I don't remember!"

"It was only ten years ago, Kei."

"But ten years is a pretty long time."

"Well, I'd like to see it, and maybe some of the other cities."

"Yeah! Me too!"

"Aren't you forgetting about someone?"

The two teenagers turned to see a dark-haired boy walking towards them. Kaneda grinned and waved.

"Hey Tetsuo!"

Tetsuo Shima was the youngest of the gang, even though he was only 16. That made him feel like he was overlooked, but Kaneda was his best - not to mention first – friend anyway.

"So, are you gonna continue working on the bikes or what?"

"Ok, ok."

Then the trio walked over to where they were preparing their motorbikes for the long trip. Little did they realize that this would lead into something bigger then they could have ever imagined…

* * *

**_Gijinka Renamon presents: Anime Hearts

* * *

_**

After a while, Kei turned to Kaneda and asked, "Hey Kaneda, do you think you could pick up a few things for me?"

Kaneda nodded. "Sure what do you need?"

Kei handed him a list. "We just need box of first-aid supplies, a few cans of food, and some bottles of water. You think you can get all that?"

The boy smirked."Just leave it to me!" And with that, he was off.

* * *

An hour later, he returned with an armful of supplies, panting heavily. 

"Here's . . . the stuff . . . you wanted. . ."

Kei grinned and took the stuff from him. "Thanks!" Kaneda sat down and yawned loudly.

"Tired?"

"What? Me? Never!" Kaneda tried a big, fake grin.

"Well, it's late," said Tetsuo. "Let's call it a day."

The other two nodded and they walked off towards their apartments. They were very silent, so Kaneda broke the mood by asking: "So, what do you thinks' out there?"

Tetsuo just shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe we'll find other worlds!"

"Oh Tetsuo, not this again!"

"I'm serious! What if there are other worlds out there beside our own? And if there are, why are we in this one?"

"Good point…" Kaneda muttered.

Kei looked at Tetsuo. "You've been thinking about a lot of stuff recently, haven't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's something I've been wondering for a long time."

Kaneda yawned. "Well, this is my stop. G'Night."

The others bid him goodnight, and he walked into the building that housed his apartment.

* * *

**_World Name: Egypt Kingdom_**

* * *

In the midst of the swirling sands, stood a large collection of homes and temples made out of stones and mud. But the largest and most grand of all these buildings was the golden palace of the great Pharaoh Yami. (2) 

Judging by the buildings' style and by the outfits the people wore, one would expect the city to be just like ancient Egypt.

But the figure walking through the Pharaoh's palace looked nothing like the sort. He was very young, about 15 years old (though it was difficult to tell by his height), with blond hair in a ponytail, and golden eyes. He wore a red coat over a black shirt, black pants, black leather boots, and white gloves. His name was Edward Elric.

Ed was currently humming a jaunty tune (3) as he walked into the lavishly decorated throne room and announced, "Good morning your Highness! It's nice to – WHAT?"

Apparently the throne room was empty! Ed went nuts and started searching everywhere. Just as he was beginning to worry, a big ball of gold-white fur tackled him to the ground. Ed looked up to see a golden retriever leering over him.

"Great, just great. Alexander, do you mind getting off me!" when Alexander didn't budge, Ed had to push the dog off himself. Then he noticed the scroll in the dog's mouth.

"Huh? What's that?"

Taking the scroll, he read over it, his eyes growing wider with reach word. Finally, he burst out of the room, and raced through the palace screaming his lungs out.

Visitors and servants alike watched as Ed tore through the hallways like the hounds of Hell were after him.

The distraught boy raced out into the courtyard where his younger brother Alphonse was sleeping in the shade of an obelisk.

"WAKE UP AL, WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM!"

The huge suit of armor clanked as Al pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"Good morning Nii-san."

"Yeah, yeah good morning to you too, but we have a serious problem on our hands! The Pharaoh has gone missing!"

"Oh. That is bad."

"You can't tell anyone about this!"

"Not even Queen Tea or Lady Serenity?"

"No! Not a soul!"

"Oh, good morning ladies."

Ed spun around and saw the queen and her favorite handmaiden looking at them quizzically. He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head as a big sweat drop came down. How was he going to explain this?

* * *

Neo-Tokyo 

The next day, the group was busy working on their project. It was a beautiful day, so they had decided to move their motorbikes outside.

Kaneda hummed as he grabbed a wrench and started tuning up his bike. Just then, Kei walked up to him and said, "Hey Kaneda, I left my toolbox in the garage. Do you think you could get it for me?"

"Sure!"

Kaneda pulled himself up, and jogged into the garage. He smiled when he saw the spot where all the members of his gang had carved their names and various other things into the wall. With a grin, he pulled out a pocket knife and started carving something.

"**There's very little time left . . ."**

Kaneda spun around in surprise, and noticed a man dressed in a black cloak standing behind him. Nearby the man was a door what had simply appeared out of nowhere several years ago, but no one had ever been able to open it, since there was no keyhole or doorknob or anything of the sort.

"**This world has been connected, and soon, it will be swallowed by the darkness."**

Kaneda blinked. This guy must be crazy!

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"**There is a lot to learn, but you understand so little. You do not know what lies behind the door."**

"So. . . you're from another world?"

_Wow. . . _He thought,_ so Tetsuo was right! There are other worlds out there!_

"**One who knows nothing does not understand anything."**

"Well, I'm going to go out there and see what there is!"

"**A meaningless effort. Soon, everything you know will change."** And with that, he vanished into thin air. Kaneda blinked.

_What the hell was that? I must be going crazy or something. Yeah, that's it._

Kaneda picked up Kei's toolbox and carried it outside to where Kay was working.

"Hey thanks!" She exclaimed when she saw him. "Oh, by the way, I also found this. You can have it." She gave him another Hi-Potion that Kaneda put away in his bag. "You wanna take a break?" she asked.

"Uh, sure, ok."

A short time later, the two of them sat on top of the garage watching the sky.

"Tomorrow's the big day!" Kei announced brightly.

"Yeah." Kaneda muttered.

Kei looked at him. "Something the matter?"

"Huh? Oh no, it's nothing."

"Oh." She looked away, then tirned back to face him. "Kaneda?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise... promise me you'll never change."

Kaneda blinked in suprise. "Huh? Oh... sure."

Kei grinned at him. "You know, once we start off, it's gonna be great!"

* * *

Egypt Kingdom 

Meanwhile, a few worlds over, the group looked over the words of the scroll the Pharaoh had left.

_Ed,  
I'm sorry for leaving without saying anything, but this is important.  
The stars have been blinking out one by one, and I know that can't be good. I hate to leave you, but I have no choice.  
While I'm gone, I want you and your brother to go to Anime City to find someone with the 'key' to our survival. Look for a man named Gene Starwind. He'll help you.  
Sincerely,  
Pharaoh Yami  
P.S: Tell Tea I'm sorry, ok? Thanks._

Serenity frowned. "This looks serious," she said.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to trust him." Tea said.

Al scratched the back of his head as he asked, "But what did he mean by 'Find the Key to our survival'?"

Tea shrugged. "Who knows?" She said. "You know how much the Pharaoh loves puzzles and riddles."

Ed grinned and pumped one fist into the air.

"Well, you can count on us to find this 'Key' for you!"

Tea smiled. "I knew you can!" she said happily. "Now head to the docks where a ship will be waiting for you but first…" she looked up and shouted, "Morty, could you come here for a second?"

Almost instantly, a very short boy with dirty blond hair appeared.

"Yes 'mam?"

""Morty will be your recorder, so everyone will know about your adventures. Now get going! Serenity and I will be able to hold down the fort while the Pharaoh's away, right Serenity?" The girl nodded.

The trio bowed once, than ran off to find the docks where the vehicles were held. Alexander ran after them, barking happily.

"So Morty," began Al, "Your world was lost to the darkness?" The smaller boy looked down sadly.

"Yeah. For all I know, I might have been the only survivor."

"Oh."

"Hey! Less talking and more walking, and now that I think of it, we can't tell anyone else where were' from." Al nodded.

"Yeah. We have to protect the World Border."

"You mean World Order, Al."

"Uh, right."

* * *

"Are you done _yet_?" 

Hours later, the group stood in the middle of the dock floor, watching as the two best mechanics fixed up a ship for travel to other worlds. And it was taking longer than Ed had originally expected.

From the top of the ship, a blond-haired teenager with an oil-smudged faced popped up and shouted, "Hold yer horses! We're almos' finished!"

"Well hurry it up! We haven't got all day!"

A few minutes later, boy with brown hair in a spike climbed out from under the ship and announced, well, were' done. Let me give you a tour."

Later, they had visited the main deck, the cabins, ect. ect, while telling them how to fly it. (4)

"Well," announced Tristan (the spiky-haired mechanic), that's it."

"Yeah," agreed Joey (the other mechanic), "This oughta help you get to those other worlds!"

Al bowed. "Thank you very much." Ed frowned impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, now let's get going!" The three travelers hopped aboard the ship, and prepared to take off. From the dock, Tristan and Joey watched them, while waving.

"Bye! Good luck!"

"How long d'you think they'll last?"

"I dunno. Maybe about a week?"

"Probably. Bye!"

"Happy trails!"

* * *

Neo-Tokyo

In the bedroom of his apartment, Kaneda sat on his bed thinking about what Kei told him.

_"You know, once we start off, it's gonna be great!"_

"It's going to be great . . ."

Suddenly, a loud boom of thunder interrupted his thoughts. Kaneda sat up and stared out his window at the dark clouds that covered the sky.

"Uh, oh, I'd better go check on the bikes."

He jumped out of bed, left the apartment, bounded down the steps, and dashed out of the building...and then slid to a halt at what he saw. The skies above him were covered in reddish-black clouds accompanied by the occasional lighting bolt. Kaneda felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up in fright. Hurriedly, he made his way to the garage where the bikes were. Kaneda suddenly noticed that there was no one in sight. The once-busy streets of Neo-Tokyo were empty and barren.

"Where is everybody?"

As he got within a block of the garage, a whole horde of Shadows appeared. Kaneda stepped back in fright.

"Wh-what the --!"

Even though he was a good fighter, for some reason, Kaneda ran off in a different direction, hoping to lose them. Suddenly, hestopped in his tarcksas he noticed a familiar figure.

"Tetsuo!"

The other boy turned to look at him, and Kaneda noticed a crazed look in his eyes that made him shiver all over.

"The door has opened. . ."

"What?"

"Don't you see? The door is open now! We can go to the other worlds!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Where's Kei? We need to find her!"

"Kei's coming with us," Tetsuo answered in an eerily calm voice. "Once we step through, we may never see our friends again, but this may be our only chance! We can't be afraid!"

Suddenly, a beam of dark light surrounded them, blurring Kaneda's vision. Just as he was going to be blinded, a ray of bright light shot out of the darkness and into his hands. It formed into a sword with several points near the end, making it look like a giant key. The blade was a silvery color, and the handle was a deep gold. At the end was a keychain with a goldeneye-shape at the end.

"This is the Keyblade. Use it well!"

Kaneda spun around; looking for the voice, then gave up. Suddenly he realized that his friend was gone!

"Tetsuo? Where are you?" Suddenly, a girl's scream peirced the air. "Oh no, Kei!"

Kanedabegan slashing his way through the darkness to the garage, where he found Kei. She looked like she was beat up, with her skin marred with bruises, and her hair all messed up.

"Kaneda..."

"Kei!" the boy shouted, running towards her.

Suddenly, the door burst open as a great wind came out, blowing Kei towards him. He tried to catch her, but she seemed to go right through him!

The wind was so strong, that Kaneda was blown backwards. Minutes passed. Finally, he had the strength to get to his feet, but when he did, he saw that the garage and practically all of the other buildings had been blown away, leaving only a blank strip of land. But the monstrous being that loomed over him was undoubtedly the same one from his dream!

"Not _him_ again!"

The monster slammed its palm on the ground, and Kaneda jumped away just as it hit the ground. Hurriedly, the boy got to his feet

"You want a fight? Ok, BRING IT!"

The monster attacked in the same pattern as before, except that now, after it was hit enough, it leaned forward so Kaneda could hit its face.

After multiple hits, the monster let out an ear-splitting cry as it vanished. Kaneda paused, breathing heavily.

"Phew. . . I did it . . . HUH?"

A web of cracks spread from underneath his feet, and the ground shattered, sending him into the darkness.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

In the skies above Anime City, a star faded and died. . .

_To be continued…

* * *

_

(1)- I don't know what her last name is, so I made it up.

(2)- Ok, ok, so that was the closest thing to a king I could get!

(3)- Think the opening song for Fullmetal Alchemist.

(4)- In this fic, the Eygpt Kingdom is supposed to be like ancient Egypt…with technologically advanced stuff. Thought I'd just clear that up.


	3. Chapter 2: The Heroes Unite

Here we go, chapter two! Everyone, read and enjoy.

**_UPDATED 8/8/06: _**Added and changed more things.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Heroes Unite 

In the place known as Anime City, Ed, Al, Alexander, and Morty were walking along the cobblestone streets when Al stopped and looked up.

"Huh?" What's the matter?" Ed asked.

Al pointed up to the sky, and simply said, "A star's going out."

The others looked up and watched as one of the many stars that dotted the sky faded into nothingness.

"We'd better hurry!" Ed shouted. But Alexander turned and ran in the direction of the falling star.

"Hey wait!" Morty exclaimed, as he started after the dog, but Al stopped him.

"Don't worry, he'll be ok… I hope."

_**

* * *

World Name: Anime City

* * *

**_

Somewhere else. . .

Alexander raced through the streets, dodging anything in his path, and raced into an alley. There, lay a teenage boy of about 17, with messy black hair. He wore a red jacket over a white T-shirt, as well as jeans, and dirty white sneakers. Clutched in one hand was the handle of a sword that resembled a key. (1)

Alexander jumped on the boy, and began licking his face, causing him to stir.

"Mmph! Ok, I'm up I'm up!" Kaneda sat up, rubbing is face. "Man...What a dream that was..." then he sat up and noticed his surroundings. "I-I'm not dreaming! Where am I? Something tells me I'm not in Neo-Tokyo anymore…" (2)

Alexander barked, and ran off.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Kaneda got up and ran after him.

He stopped and looked at the huge towers of marble and stone that loomed over him. The air was filled with the talking of people and the honking of cars

"Wow...so this is what it's like in another world...!" Suddenly, the sound of a truck horn blared behind him forcing him to jump out of the way.

"Hey watch where you're going!" the irate truck driver screamed.

"Well you watch it!" Kaneda shouted back, an anime arrow forming on his head. (3) He frowned and turned away. "I guess some things just never change..."

* * *

After a few more minutes of walking, he came across a small shop. The weather-beaten wooden sign read, "Rick Wheeler's Accessories" 

"This looks like a good place to start..." he pushed open the door and a little bell rang. The shop was small, and cluttered with junk, but one couldn't help wondering if you could find just about anything in here.

"Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming." From the back of the room stepped a young man with short red-brown hair wearing a blue denim jacket and some kind of red shirt and magenta pants. "Hey there, how can I...oh wait, it's just a kid."

Kaneda's head practically swelled to five times its normal size as he screamed, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I'M 17 YEARS OLD FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

The man raised his hands in protest. "Ok, ok, calm down geez! Anyway, who are you and what're you doing here?"

So Kaneda told the man-Rick-about what happened to him and his city.

"Well," he said when Kaneda had finished, "I don't know what you're talking about, but this isn't Neo-Tokyo. This-"he said, gesturing out the window "-is Anime City, where the survivors come whenever their worlds are destroyed. Don't know what will happen if this world is destroyed though." Kaneda noticed that there was a tone of sadness in the man's voice.

"Well, thanks anyway. I'm going to go look for my friends now."

"Sure thing, hey, before you leave, don't you stock up on a few supplies first?"

"Well, ok." Kaneda walked up to the counter. "What do you have?"

Rick pulled out a box of items. "Well…let's see…we have this necklaces that help protect you. I don't know how they work, I just know they do."

"Seems kinda girly."

"Ok, how about this then?"

He took out something that resembled an earring stud.

"It's called an ability stud," Rick continued. It raises your ability or something like that."

"Now that's cool! I'll buy it! Um...what kind of money do you take?"

"Well, it all depends what the buyer has, but the main form of currency here is Yen. For this, I'll take ¥50." (4)

Kaneda dug a few bills and coins from his pocket and handed them over.

"Thank you very much," Rick said, taking the money. As Kaneda left the shop, he called after him, "And if you ever get into any trouble, just come and find me."

"Ok," said Kaneda, as he exited the shop, "But I don't think I'll need any help."

Rick watched him go and chuckled to himself.

_That kid reminds me of myself when I was that age… _

_

* * *

_

Outside, Kaneda looked around. "Ok, where to next?"

Suddenly, he heard someone screaming. Running towards the sound, he saw a mob of Shadows attack a man.

"Hey!"

Suddenly, before his very eyes, the Shadows knocked the man to the ground, and one of them slashed the man's chest, causing a white heart-shaped form to come out. And then theman's body took on the form of a Shadow! The creatures then turned and began walking towards him slowly, their eyes gleaming.

"Hey! Get away!" Kaneda began slashing wildly as he ran down the street.

_Dammit! Those things are everywhere! _

"Hey you!"

Kaneda spun around and saw a red-haired man in a big yellow coat looking at him

"You're the Keyblade Master, right?"

"Uh, I guess so."

"Well, as long as you have that Keyblade, the Heartless will come after you. But why would it choose a kid?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nevermind. Let me see that."

"No way!"

"Then I have no choice…" the man drew out some kind of gun out of a holster, and began firing. Kaneda dodged the blasts and rushed at the man, swinging the Keyblade as hard as he could...

Moments later, both combatants were on their knees, breathing heavily. (5)

"Now you're gonna...gonna…" Suddenly, Kaneda collapsed with exhaustion

The man looked at the boy's motionless form."Poor kid."

"Looks like you're getting soft, Gene."

The man spun around as a young woman appeared. She had tanned skin, white-blond hair, and, curiously enough, fangs, cat ears, and a tail.

"Aw, come on Aisha," Gene protested, "I was just going easy on him. Let's just take him inside." He added, pointing to the body.

* * *

Meanwhile… 

The Elric brothers and Morty were still looking for help in an old house.

"I think this place is abandoned," commented Al.

"Gee, it sure is creepy in here," Morty whispered.

"Oh, come on! You're not afraid of an old house, are ya?" Asked Ed impishly.

Suddenly, he felt a hand tap his shoulder! Ed jumped and spun around to see a very pretty young girl with dark hair in some kind of uniform (6) looking at them curiously.

"Excuse me, but were you three sent by the Pharaoh?"

* * *

(With Kaneda)_"C'mon Kaneda, you lazy bum! Wake up!"_

The boy sat up in bed with a start, looking around wildly. He was now in a small room, surrounded by unusually people.

"Hey now, take it easy," said a young boy with blond hair. He tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but Kaneda moved backwards.

"Who are you, and where am I?"

"Geeze, this is the Keyblade Master? Looks like a kid to me." Said a woman with cat ears, as she leaned against the wall and smirked.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Hey, take it easy," Gene said, handling the Keyblade. Kaneda saw this, and freaked out.

"Hey! That's mine!"

"Now don't jump to conclusions," Gene told him. "We had to take this from you; otherwise the Heartless would have followed you everywhere. Unfortunately, this protection won't last long. "

Suddenly, the Keyblade began to glow brightly, and then it disappeared and reappeared in Kaneda's hands.

"Wow! Gene, did you see that?" The boy exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, Jim, I'm not blind." Gene shrugged. "Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers."

"Just what the hell is going on?" Kaneda shouted angrily. "Who or what are the Heartless, and what do they have to do with me?"

* * *

(With Morty and the Elric brothers) 

""Well," the girl began, "You know about the other worlds out there, right?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, but they're supposed to be a secret, right?"

"Yes, but only because the have been separated from each other. But that all changed when the Heartless appeared."

* * *

(With Kaneda) 

"Just what are the Heartless?" Kaneda asked.

"They are beings without hearts. The darkness inside people's hearts is what attracts them, and there is darkness in every person's heart."

"Even mine?"

"Even yours."

Kaneda gulped.

"Hey, did you ever hear of a guy called Dartz?" (7) Jim asked.

* * *

(With Morty and the Elric brothers) 

"Not really."Ed commented.

"He was studying the Heartless, and wrote everything down in a series of journal entries that were somehow scattered across the worlds."

"The Pharaoh must have gone after them," said Morty.

"But what about the Key?" Al asked. Melfina looked at them.

"You mean the Keyblade?"

* * *

(With Kaneda) 

"Exactly what is the Keyblade?" Kaneda asked, confused.

"It's a weapon that the Heartless are afraid of," answered Jim, "And that's why they're after you."

"But what if I don't want this power?"

"The Keyblade chooses its master kid," Gene said, "And that's you, so tough luck!"

Kaneda frowned. "But what happened to my home, and my friends?"

Gene shrugged. "Who knows? But sooner or later, the Heartless _will_ find you, and when they do, you'd better be ready." Turing to Aisha, he said, "Go find Melfina. She should be here with the other visitors by now."

"Gene!"

They spun around at the sound of Jim's voice and saw a dark figure in the window, which suddenly shattered, sending glass shards everywhere. Looking up, they stared at the creature in front of them. It looked like a Shadow, except it was bigger, wore a helmet, and has a symbol on its chest that resembled a heart with an "X" across it. Several more jumped in through the window.

"Get going!" Gene shouted. "We'll hold them off, right kid?"

Kaneda smirked as he readied his weapon. "You bet. And it's not kid, it's Kaneda. Shotaro Kaneda!"

"Whatever. Let's get 'em!" Then they leapt at the creatures, hacking, slashing, and shooting. The creatures (called Soldiers) fled, but Kaneda and Gene followed them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aisha and Jim bust through the door, startling Melfina and the others, who had just arrived. 

"Hey! What the--?"

"No time, the Heartless are attacking!"

The Elric brothers gave each other glances.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

The two of them ran off towards the room, ignoring the shouts behind them.

Down on the streets, Gene and Kaneda were fighting off the Heartless.

"Don't bother with these guys, Gene said, as he put a bullet between another Soldier's eyes, "Try to find their leader!"

Above them, Al watched the fighting from the balcony.

"Huh. Isn't that--?"

Suddenly, Ed was thrown to the ground in front of him.

"Nii-san!" Al exclaimed, rushing to his brother's side. "Are you--"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ed muttered, getting to his feet, "But these guys are relentless!" Sure enough, they were instantly surrounded by a large group of Heartless. "Come and get us you creeps!" the boy yelled, raising his fists. Suddenly, the balcony beneath him began to quiver.

"Uh, Nii-san?"

Without warning, the balcony gave way, sending the beings on it plummeting to the ground.

"A A A H H H!"

* * *

Kaneda looked up when he heard screaming, and barely had any time to jump out of the way when the balcony came crashing down. When the smoke cleared, he saw a boy and what looked like a giant suit of armor lying on the ground. 

"Ah, gerrof!" Ed pulled himself out from beneath his brother, and looked up at Kaneda. When he saw the Keyblade, he instantly realized something.

"The Key!" both brothers exclaimed, quickly getting to their feet. Kaneda stepped backwards.

"Huh? What are you--?" Suddenly, the Soldiers that were sprawled along the ground got up and began advancing towards them.

"Can we finish this later? These guys look pretty angry."

"Ok, but first…" Ed grabbed a few pieces of metalfrom the remains of the balcony, and threw them to the ground. He clapped his hands together, and slammed the ground with his palms, creating a burst of light. When it cleared, themetal had turned into a iron spear and a shield. Kaneda's jaw dropped.

"H-how…?"

"Now is not the time!" Exclaimed Ed as the Soldiers advanced.

"Uh, do you think we can do this?" Al muttered.

"Relax." Ed replied. "There's three of us and one, two, three, four, five...Hey! Hold still! I think I counted one of you twice!" (8)

The Soldiers looked at each other, confused, then charged at them. The trio attacked, hacking and slashing away. In a few minutes, the creatures were gone.

"That was easy," commented Ed.

"Yeah,_ too_ easy." Kaneda muttered.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake as a huge figure appeared. It looked like a giant suit of armor that was painted orange on one side and purple on the other. Wordlessly, it got into a fighting stance and rushed towards them, forcing the group to leap out of the way.

Take this!" Kaneda swung the Keyblade at its left arm, which detached from its body! "Huh!"

The Guard Armor took this chance to strike him to the ground. Struggling to his feet, Kaneda yelled, "Hey! Try to hit the separate body parts!"

The other two complied, and they tried attacking again. Ed and Kaneda slashed at the hands and feet, while Al blocked its blows. Once the hands and feet were gone, they struck at the head savagely until the Guard Armor collapsed. They watched as a heart-shaped object flew out of the guard armor's body, and it vanished.

Kaneda paused and wiped the sweat off of his face. "Phew, that was a close one!" He turned to face the two Elric brothers. "So," he said, "You were looking for this?" He held up his weapon.

"I guess they're after the Keyblade too."

The three of them turned to see Gene limping towards them.

"Where were you when we needed you?" Kaneda shouted. The man shrugged.

"I was busy. Anyway, I think these two can be trusted."

Al nudged his brother. "Hey, maybe he can come along with us!" Ed grinned.

"Yeah, how about it?"

Kaneda frowned. "Yeah, I guess..."

"Hey Kaneda, maybe you can find your friends if you join these two." Gene commented.

"Of course," Ed added, you have to perk up a little. You know, be happy."

"You mean like this?" Kaneda then gave them a huge, goofy smile that caused the two brothers to burst out laughing.

"Yeah! That's it!" Exclaimed Al, as he laughed loudly. Kaneda smiled.

"Why not? I'll come with you. Oh, by the way, my name's Shotaro Kaneda, but you can just call me Kaneda."

"I'm Edward Elric."

"And I'm Alphonse Elric."

The trio put their hands on top of each other's and shouted, "All for one and one for all!"

* * *

Somewhere in a dark, foreboding place, a group of villains watched the three heroes from a glowing sphere set into a round table. 

"That brat has taken down the Heartless easily!" Exclaimed a green being angrily. (Dragonball Z)

"Keep in mind that the power comes from the Keyblade and not the boy himself." said tall, muscular man with spiky blond hair. (Rave Master)

"So why don'twe make 'im a Heartless? Dat would make things easier fer us." A large, slightly humanoid blue penguin suggested very casually. (Kirby: Right Back at Ya!)

"Not to mention his allies are friends with the Pharaoh!" commented a creature in golden armor. "All of them are little rodents that need to be exterminated as soon as possible." (Monster Rancher)

"Well, from where I'm standing, you don't look like much of a prize either." A round, bald, man said smugly. (Sonic X)

"Be quiet Eggman!" The creature snapped in an angry tone. "I'm tired of listening to your insults!

"Enough!" A tall, pale man in a blue suit with a black cape slammed his fist down on the table. (Digimon)

"He has been chosen by the Keyblade. The question now is whether he will defeat the darkness, or be consumed by it. Only time will tell. Either way, he may be of some use to us..."

* * *

Back in Anime City, the group was getting ready to leave for the next world. 

"Make sure you're prepared," Gene told them. "We still don't know how far they've spread."

"Yeah, yeah yeah." Kaneda muttered.

"Here Kaneda," said Jim, handing him a bag of supplies. "You'll need this."

"Uh, thanks."

As they turned to leave he heard Gene call, "Hey, Kaneda?"

The boy spun around. "Yeah?"

He smiled. "Good luck."

Kaneda smiled back. "Thanks."

Then they walked off towards the ship.

"Our ship's just ahead," Ed announced. "Oh, by the way, I have something for you." He pulled a red gem out of his pocket and handed it to Kaneda. "Here."

"What is it?"

"It lets you use the ability Fireball Barage, which may come in handy. Now let's get going!"

"Right."

And with that, they all ran down to the ship. As they did, Morty whispered to himself. "What an adventure! I hope I can get it all down...!"

* * *

When they reached the docking bay where the ship was held, Ed told Kaneda, "And this here is our ship." 

"This? What a piece of junk!"

"Hey! If you don't like it, you can just walk!"

"Well maybe I will!"

"Please stop!" Al shouted loudly, as he ran between the two of them. "Let's not fight!"

The two stepped back and glared at each other. "Fine," said Kaneda, "But I get to be captain!"

"What? No way!"

"But I'm the Keyblade Master!"

"That still doesn't give you the right to be captain!"

The remaining two people sweat dropped as they watched the two argue.

_This is gonna be a long trip!_ Morty thought to himself.

**_To be continued...  
_**

* * *

1- Yeah, I'm taking a few creative liberties with some of the character's outfits.

2- Your obligatory Wizard of Oz refrence.

3- You know, the thing that appears on a character's head when he or she is mad. . .

4- I have _no _clue how this works, so I'm just going to make it up.

5- Ok, so I suck at fight scenes. Big deal! I'm working on them in future chapters, but I couldn't think of how to do this one part.

6-Exactly what do you call that thing she wears?

7- I had trouble thinking up a main bad guy, and since Dartz seems pretty close to Ansem, I figured "What the Hell?" and decided to use him.

8- This is from the movie_ Robots_.


	4. Chapter 3: Curiouser and Curiouser

And here's chapter 4. Sorry about the wait. Also, this may be my longest chapter yet!

Reviews:

**_Winged Knight-_** Uh, ok, thanks.

* * *

Chapter 3: Things get Curiouser and Curiouser (1)

The ship sliced through the azure blue skies like a giant sword. Inside the ship, the atmosphere was stifling.

"How much farther?"

Kaneda was lying across the captain's chair, with his hands behind his head. Also, he was incredibly bored.

"I told you, we still have while before we reach the first world!" Ed snapped angrily.

"Oh. Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO! Don't make me turn this ship around!"

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the screens started beeping.

"We've reached the first world," Announced Al.

"Good. Set her down over there."

"Aye Aye Captain!"

* * *

The ship descended from the clouds, and landed on a big, grassy field. Scattered here and there were unusual stone statues. The group exited the ship (with Morty staying behind to keep an eye on it) and off they went.

"Seems pretty quiet." Al said, looking at their surroundings.

"Yeah, a little _too_ quiet." Said Kaneda, lifting up his weapon, and readying it in case of any attack, which was possible. "Are you _sure_ the Heartless are here?"

"Positive."

The boy sighed. "Okay, let's start looking…"

Suddenly, a green blur caught their attention. They looked down and saw a bipedal frog in blue robes running past them in a panic.

"Ahh! I'm so late! Yubaba's going to have my head!"

Kaneda blinked. "Did you guys see what I just saw?"

"Depends. What did you see?" Replied Ed, looking slightly surprised himself.

"We gotta follow him!" Exclaimed Kaneda, as he took after the small being. The Elric brothers sighed.

"Oh boy…" Al muttered quietly.

* * *

After a short chase, the trio reached a bunch of brightly-colored buildings that were cluttered around a small area. In front of them was a statue of a frog that stared at the unusual group through blank eyes. Kaneda looked around.

"I think he went this way. Come on."

The three of them started walking through the small village-like area.

"What is this place?" Kaneda asked curiously.

"I don't know," Replied Al, "But I think these are all restaurants."

"Good." Ed commented, "I'm hungry."

The group stopped at a red bridge that leads to a huge, grand-looking building.

"What the-is that a bathhouse?" asked Ed.

"Sure looks like one." said Al.

"Hey," said Kaneda, "I think I hear voices over there!" He pointed to the bathhouse. "We'd better go check it out." The other two nodded, and they ran in the direction of the voices.

As they crossed the bridge, Ed could have sworn he saw a tall figure dressed in black wearing a white mask looking back at them.

Across the bridge, they saw a group of frog-like people standing around a makeshift courtroom. In the defendant's place was a young girl with brown hair in a ponytail wearing a white and green striped shirt, pink shorts, and yellow hiking boots.

The frog appeared and announced loudly, "Your attention please! This court is now in session, with Yubaba presiding as the judge!"

A very short elderly woman stepped up to the judge's seat, and the trio saw that she had an extremely large head with a big pointed nose, and silvery hair set up in a bun. The woman pointed to the girl and said, "This human is on trial because she tried to steal my heart!"

"Steal her heart?" exclaimed Ed.

"That means the Heartless must be here!" said Kaneda.

"For this offense," continued the woman, Yubaba, "She will have her head cut off!"

"But-but I didn't do it!" the girl exclaimed. Some frog men came and grabbed her by the arms.

The three heroes watched these turns of events with shock.

"We gotta help her!" exclaimed Kaneda.

"But if we did, that would be meddling!" protested Al.

"I don't care!" Kaneda snapped back. "This doesn't seem right!"

He stepped forward and shouted, "Hey! I know for a fact that this girl didn't try to take anyone's heart!"

The crowd looked at him curiously.

"Oh, really? And do you have any proof, little boy?" Yubaba asked him curiously. Kaneda shook his head.

"No. But my friends and I are willing to go find some!"

Yubaba sat back in her seat. "Well, since I'm feeling generous today," she said, "I'll give you to the end of the day to find some evidence. Now go!"

Kaneda turned and walked away. Ed and Al followed after him.

As they left, Yubaba announced, "Throw that human into the cage!" The frog men did so, and flung the girl into an iron cage that sat nearby.

Meanwhile, the trio was searching the place for any signs that could free the girl, Chihiro.

"Are you crazy?" exclaimed Ed, "You don't know what you're getting us into!" Kaneda spun around to face him.

"But if I didn't do anything," he said, "The girl was going to get hurt! Besides, if the Heartless_ are_ here, we have to do something!"

"Maybe I can be of some assistance."

They spun around to see a boy with short black hair and olive green eyes in a white shirt and blue shorts looking at them.

"Who are you?" asked Al. The boy smiled.

"I am Haku, "he said, giving a little bow. "I know all about what you are doing, and I know who the culprit is."

"Really? Then who is it?" questioned Ed. The boy just grinned.

"I know who it is—but I won't say. However, I will tell you this: there are four pieces of evidence to find. If you can find them all, there is a big reward in your future." And with that, he turned and walked off.

"Hey wait!" Kaneda shouted, running after him. But when he got to where the boy was supposed to be, he was gone!

"Where'd he go?" asked Al.

"I dunno," said Ed, "But do you think he's telling the truth?"

"Well, I guess we don't have a choice." Kaneda said. "Let's go!" The other two nodded and followed him.

* * *

They looked around some pig pens and discovered some claw marks. Then they went back to the restaurants and located a stench. They visited a garden and found an antenna. And they went to the side of the bathhouse and saw some footprints. Occasionally, they ran into a few Heartless that they managed to dispatch.

As they were coming back with their evidence, they heard rustling sounds in a nearby bush.

"Ssh!" whispered Kaneda, "I think I heard something!" Readying their weapons, they moved closer and closer to the source of the sound. When Kaneda pulled back the leaf, he found…a small white creature with huge purple-tipped ears and a marking on its forehead that resembles three red triangles. The creature looked up at them and smiled.

"Hi! My name's Calumon!" it said cheerfully. "I'm awful lonely. Will you play with me?"

"Uh, sure." Kaneda said cautiously. "But what's a little guy like you doing in a place like this?"

The creature seemed to droop, its ears retracting into its skull with only two small stubs to show they were ever there.

"Well," Calumon began slowly, "I used to live in a big place with lots of friends, but one day some evil dark things came and we were separated."

The trio gave each other looks.

"Well…what do you think?" asked Kaneda after a brief moment.

"Maybe we could drop him off in Anime City," Al suggested.

"Okay, but we may have to drop him off at the ship." Ed said. "He smiled at Calumon and said,"Would you like to come with us?"

"You betcha!"

"Well, first, we have to put you somewhere safe!"

"Yay!" The little creature jumped into his arms and soon fell asleep.

"Aw…" Kaneda snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny." The other boy muttered. "Let's go." As they turned to go, Al shouted

"Hey wait!"

The two boys glanced at him.

"What is it?"

"Do you think there may be others like him around here?"

Kaneda paused. "Maybe we should check around…"

_

* * *

_

Back at the garden, Ed nearly tripped over a pink ball with a blue flower on its head called Yokomon. It took some pulling and some convincing to get her to go with them. And further examination of the pigpens yielded a small pink talking head named Koromon, who was easily persuaded to come along.

Once they had dropped off the small creatures (who said they were called 'Digimon'), the trio returned to the bathhouse where Haku was waiting for them.

"Not bad," he said, examining the boxes. "This will surely help Chihiro out. However," he added, looking at them, "Do you think you can save yourselves?"

"Stop talking in riddles and tell us the answer!" Ed shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that." Haku replied, "But I believe I did promise a reward." He pulled something out of his pocket, and threw it to Kaneda, who managed to catch it. It was a marble-sized white orb that felt cold to the touch.

"What's this for?"

"This is for casting the spell Blizzard Wave," Haku answered. "You may need it." And with that, he was gone.

"That guy is really starting to work my nerves!" Ed grumbled.

After a while, the group returned to the court area, holding their evidence in several boxes, which they set in front of the judge's stand

"So you're back," said Yubaba. "And did you bring the evidence?"

"Yep." said Kaneda.

"Very well," the old woman said. "We will now check the evidence. But first…" She pulled a box from out of nowhere, and dropped it on the ground next to the other boxes, then moved them around. "Since there is a lot of evidence, one of you will have to pick a box."

"But…" Kaneda silenced Ed's protest by raising a hand.

"Let me go," he said. The boy nodded and stepped back.

Kaneda stepped up, took a deep breath, and opened the box on the far left. Out popped a Shadow that looked around surprised before jumping out of the box and scuttling off.

"What was that?" exclaimed a surprised Yubaba.

"That-"said Kaneda, "-Is the culprit. Or, is part of the guilty party at least. Now let Chihiro go!"

"Silence!" Yubaba snapped. "I'm in charge here, and anyone who defies me will die! GUARDS!"

At her command, several frog-men in armor holding various weapons rushed at them.

"Aw geez…" muttered Ed.

With no time to lose, the three of them started slashing away at any Frog-Soldier that got too close. Kaneda blocked a spear jab and said, "Ok, let's see how this spell works. "Blizzard Wave!"

A wave of could air appeared out of nowhere and froze a group of Frog-Soldiers in place. The boy smirked. "Nice."

"Let's see how these work!" Ed yelled. "Fireball Barrage!" From his hands came a multitude of fireballs that pummeled the Frog-Soldiers mercilessly. Ed grinned. "Frog legs anyone?"

After a while, the Frog-Soldiers realized they were outmatched, and ran off.

"Hey! Where are you going!" Yubaba screeched. She turned and saw the trio glaring at her

Ok, fun's over," Kaneda said firmly, "Now release the girl." Yubaba smiled.

"Hmm. Maybe you brats aren't so worthless after all," she said. "Fine. I'll let the girl go."

She waved her hand and the cage, which lay to the side, floated over to them. The three of them peered inside and saw….

"Hey! It's empty!" Kaneda exclaimed. Surprised, Yubaba took a look herself.

"So it is." she said, in a surprisingly calm voice. "Well, either way, that brat is out of my hair for good." She turned around and walked into the building.

"Hold on a minute-!" Ed started, but then Al put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let her go Nii-chan. Chihiro's not here. We should just go."

Silently, the trio turned and left the area.

* * *

As they were walking across the bridge, Kaneda stopped when he felt something behind him.

"What's the matter?" Al asked him.

"I dunno. It felt like someone's following us…"

A snarling sound got their attention. Spinning around, they saw a tall man wearing a white mask. But what really got their attention was the fact that his body was inky black color.

"A guy in black? For a moment there, I thought we had something to worry about." Commented Ed nonchalantly.

As if proving him wrong, the dark figure went through a hideous transformation. First, the mouth on the mask began to stretch until it practically split the mask apart. Two rows of teeth appeared, and a snake-like tongue flickered in and out of the forest of fangs. At the same time, two pairs of horns that curved forward grew out from the forehead, and behind the head. Then the creature's body started to expand, and a mouth similar to the one on its face appeared where its stomach should be. After that, its arms split and expanded to become tentacles, and more tentacles grew from beneath it and wrapped around the wooden bridge. And a heckuvalot more tentacles shot from out of its backside. The creature's eyes glowed red as lit loomed over its victims. (2)

"You just had to jinx it, didn't you?"

The beast, called Dark No-Face roared as it lashed its many tentacles at them.

"Look out!"

They jumped out of the way, but Ed was snatched up by one of its tentacle-arms.

"Nii-chan!"

"Ugh…can't breathe…" the boy gasped.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" Kaneda shouted, as he leapt at the beast, but the Keyblade just sunk into its body. Chucking evilly, Dark No-Face grabbed him with a leg tentacle and threw him to the ground. Kaneda pushed himself up, groaning.

_Dammit! How are supposed to fight that thing if our weapons can go through it? Unless…_His eyes widened with a sudden realization. _That's it! _"Blizzard Wave!"

The icy blast froze the creature solid, and it stopped moving. Turning to Al, Kaneda shouted, "Okay Al, break the tentacle!"

Al nodded, and flung his shield like a Frisbee. It sliced through the tentacle, and sent Ed falling into his brother's arms.

"Alright! It worked!" Al exclaimed. But his celebration was short-lived when Dark No-Face broke loose of his icy prison.

The trio looked at each other, nodded, and began attacking again. They had it all planned out: Kaneda and/or Ed would cast Blizzard Wave and attack when the monster was immobilized.

Finally, the creature fell off the bridge with a loud cry.

"Yeah! Take that you slimy creep!" Kaneda cheered

Suddenly, the wooden bridge collapsed, forcing them to run as it fell into the valley below. They made it across just as it fell completely.

"Phew!" breathed Ed, "That was close!"

Suddenly, the Keyblade began to glow.

"Hey…what the-?" Kaneda was surprised to feel a tugging sensation, like someone was pulling him somewhere.

"I think we have to go," he muttered.

The trio eventually ended back in front of the statue that guarded the buildings. The Keyblade glowed even brighter.

"What's it doing?" Ed asked in amazement.

As if answering his question, what appeared to be a keyhole appeared on the statue, and from the Keyblade's tip came a beam of light that hit the hole. As it did, there was a sound like door clicking shut.

"Not bad."

They looked up and saw Haku standing there. "You have overcome one obstacle," he continued, but there are still many more to face. Are you up to the challenge?"

Kaneda smirked. "Of course we are!" The other boy smiled.

"Good. By the way, you might need this." He handed Kaneda a keychain with a design at the end that resembled a curling white dragon.

"What's this?"

"That," Haku said pointing, "Is the Dragonheart Keychain. Attach it to the end of your weapon and see what happens."

Kaneda did so, and the Keyblade began to glow brightly. When it faded, the Keyblade, which had originally been a long metal blade with a blue steel handle, was now a whitish color, with the handle resembling a dragon's head. The blade came out of the dragon's mouth, and it was now a silvery color.

"Wow…" was all Kaneda could say.

"Now I have to go," announced Haku, "But I wish you good luck on your quest."

Kaneda nodded. "Thanks."

Haku turned and walked into the midst of the buildings.

"Come on, guys," Kaneda said to Ed and Al, "Let's go."

To be continued…

* * *

(1)- I think that's a reference to Alice in Wonderland, but I'm not so sure.

(2)- No-Face fans please don't kill me. I just think he makes a good replacement for the Trickmaster. (Hides behind a table)


	5. Chapter 4: Rumble at the Coliseum!

_**Reviews:**_

**Winged-Knight - **Phew! I'm glad you didn't mind!

Ch. 4: Rumble at the Battle Coliseum!

Inside the ship, things had gotten a little hectic. Morty was watching over the little Digimon, with Al helping, although they seemed to be a bit too much for them to handle. Ed was at the controls, trying to pay attention.

Kaneda sat in the captain's chair, examining the Keyblade's new form. Suddenly, the ship came to a screeching halt, nearly sending Kaneda flying out of his chair.

"What the Hell was that for!" He exclaimed, climbing to his feet.

"We got another Heartless reading," Ed replied, glancing at the screens. "And it's coming from, somewhere down there."

"Ok, let's go," announced Kaneda. Looking at Morty, he added, "Could you keep an eye on the tykes for a while?"

"Uh, sure." The smaller boy replied wincing as Koromon ran into his leg.

Down in the world, the trio found themselves in a bustling city. People ran about doing their daily business.

"Huh. Kinda reminds me of my world." Kaneda said as he glanced around. They stopped at a huge white metal dome that sat in the center of the city. Over the doorway hung a large white banner that read, "SIGN UP FOR THE BIG TOURNAMENT" in bold letters.

"This looks promising." Ed commented. "Let's go."

After searching around the outside to discover a red ball with fin-like ears, four stubby legs, and a tail called Gigimon, the three of them passed through the doorways and entered a large room with tiled floors and walls. There, they were greeted by short bald man in an orange gi.

"Hello and welcome to Battle Coliseum. May I help you?"

Kaneda grinned, pointed at the man, and said, "Hey Ed, there's someone here who's smaller than you are!"

At this, Ed went crazy.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" He screamed angrily.

Al sweatdropped and said, "Uh, just ignore those two. We'd like to sign up for the tournament please."

The man shook his head and replied, "Sorry, this year, we're only doing heroes."

"What do you mean?" screamed Kaneda. "We're heroes!"

"I'm sorry, but unless you have a pass, you can't join." The man said as he turned away.

"Bull-"

Kaneda was about to swear, when he heard a voice say, "What a drag."

Spinning around, he saw a tall being with green skin, a white face, two dark green prong-like things on his head, and two black wings protruding from his back.

"It's a shame, really. You have too much potential to throw away, so I guess I'll just have to give you this." He held out his hand and a ticket materialized in it.

"What's that?" Ed asked.

"This, my young friend," the being said with a smile, "Is a Hero Ticket. With this, you can enter the tournament."

"Uh, thanks," said Kaneda, taking it from him. "Just who are you anyway?"

"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself. My name is Cell," he said with a little bow, "And I'll be rooting for you." Suddenly, he was gone. Kaneda blinked.

"What a weird guy…" he muttered.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Al asked.

"Who cares!" exclaimed Ed, "Now we can enter the tournament!"

The trio found the short man busy cleaning tables. Ed cleared his throat.

"Uh, excuse me…"

"What is it? I'm very busy and…" he looked up. "Oh it you… what do you want?"

"Um, we have this ticket, and we'd like to sign up." said Kaneda, handing the ticket to the man, who grabbed the object and began scrutinizing it intently.

After a moment, he said, "Well, this looks genuine. Come with me. My name's Krillin by the way. What's yours?"

"Oh, I'm Kaneda, and this is Ed and his younger brother Al."

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Nice to meet you." said Krillin. "Now before we begin the Preliminary round, I have to warn you that some pretty weird folks are here to battle, so you have to watch your back." Kaneda grinned.

"No problem!"

Just then, a tall woman with long black hair in a white robe walked past. She briefly glanced at Kaneda and the others, before walking away.

"…I take it that's one of them." Ed commented.

Krillin nodded. "Yeah. Her name's Shukzua Twilight, and I'll be darned if she isn't one heck of a swordswoman. Well, you'd better get ready. The Preliminary round's starting soon."

As the fight began, Kaneda's group fought off Shadows, as well as lantern-like creatures called Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies. After several rounds, Krillin came up to them and said, "Not bad. It's a shame Goku isn't here to see you fight."

Ed looked confused. "Who?"

"You must not be from around here." Krillin said, "He's a great fighter and the best friend I ever had. He's off training right now, but I bet he'll be back before the tournament ends."

Little did they realize that Cell was watching them from the very top of the stands. He turned to face Suzuka, who was with him, and said, "There's your next target. I don't want them dead, just knocked out." The woman scoffed.

"The great Cell afraid of a little boy? I'm sorry, but my contract says…"

"I know what your contract says because_ I_ wrote It." interrupted Cell. "In any case, it's like they say: It's just a game, so have fun while you can."

Suzuka frowned and said: "Fine, fine. I'll do what you want."

And with that, she left. Cell shook his head.

"You just can't find good help anymore…"

Back on the field, the trio had just finished off another round of Heartless, when Suzuka stepped onto the field.

"I do not wish to fight you," she said, "But it seems I have no choice."

Drawing two swords (1), she ran at them, and forced them to jump out of the way.

Kaneda swung the Keyblade, but Suzuka blocked it, saying: "What can a little boy do to beat me?"

The boy grinned. "This! FIREBALL BARRAGE!"

The fireballs pushed Suzuka back, and she glared at them, saying, "That was a dirty trick!"

"Well, I never really played fair," answered Kaneda with a smirk.

The Elric brothers took this distraction as a chance to bring her down, and cast magic. But she was up again, and with a single sweep of her blades, knocked them both out.

"ED! AL!" Kaneda turned to glare at Suzuka. "You'll pay for that." He hissed angrily.

The boy rushed at her, and began slashing away. What followed was a furious assault, continuously blocked by Suzuka, who tried to strike, but Kaneda blocked her attacks. Finally, she was able get past his guard, and knocked the teenager to the ground. As Kaneda glared up at her, she smirked and said, "Now, do you give up?"

"Never!"

Then without warning, the ground began to shake.

"Whoa! What's that!" exclaimed Kaneda.

Suddenly, a young woman with white-blond hair and cold blue eyes appeared. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt, a black vest, and jeans.

"Beware humans," she shouted, "For no mere mortal can compare to the power of Android #18!"

"Android #18?" asked Kaneda skeptically, "What, did they run out of names for you?"

The girl's eyes flashed red as a large burst of energy was unleashed from her fingertips, forcing them to jump out of the way.

"Grrr! Cell said nothing would interrupt us!" Suzuka shouted angrily. "That dirty double-crossing son-of-a…"

BOOM!

The next energy burst woke up Ed and Al just in time as they ran to Kaneda's side and helped him to his feet.

"What did we miss?" asked Ed.

"Oh, nothing really," the other boy replied dryly.

The warriors faced the evil android, who glared at them with an evil look on her face.

"Ka…me…ha…me…HA!"

All of a sudden, a huge energy burst shot out of nowhere and knocked #18 to the ground. She pulled herself up, shouting, "Who did that!"

"I did!"

They looked up as two men appeared. To their surprise, they were hovering in the air!

The first one had incredibly spiky black hair and wore an orange gi with a blue undershirt. The second man also had spiky black hair and wore a navy blue jumpsuit along with white gloves and boots.

"Heh. And I thought we would miss all the good stuff, Kakarot!" the second man said.

"Looks like we came just in time." said the first man.

From the stands, they heard Krillin shout, "GOKU!"

"That's Goku…?" Suzuka whispered to herself.

"Hey Krillin!" Goku shouted back, "Get everyone to safety before…AH!" He suddenly cried out in pain as the energy blast hit him in the back. #18 only laughed evilly.

"Hey! No fair!" Suzuka shouted. She leapt at #18 with her swords raised, and in the process, took off a piece of her hair.

"MY HAIR!" Screamed the android angrily, "You will die for that!"

"Not before you do." Suzuka stated calmly.

The second man grinned. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get! You'll rue the day you messed with Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans!"

He flew at her, but she unleashed an energy burst that blew him backwards.

"Grr…"

Goku climbed to his feet, saying, "Vegeta, I think we'd better take this to a whole new level!"

The other man grinned. "Good idea Kakarot! I guess you're not as stupid as you look!"

The pair clenched their fists, screamed…and then they were surrounded by a bright light! The others saw that their hair had turned golden and their eyes became a turquoise color.

"Wow…" breathed Kaneda.

#18's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't matter what form you take," she growled, "I'll destroy you anyway!" She rushed at them, but the two men unleashed energy blasts that sent her flying into the stands.

"Hey! We have to help!" shouted Al.

"Good idea," Ed said with a nod.

The group rushed at the android, with Goku and Vegeta shooting energy blasts, Suzuka and Kaneda slashing, and Ed and Al just attacking in anyway they could. Finally, #18 went down.

"How could this be?" she gasped. "How all-powerful android like me lose to pathetic beings!"

"Well," began Kaneda, "Your problem is you don't have a heart. And without a heart, you can't win!" And with that, he drove the Keyblade into her chest.

The evil android screamed only once before her body exploded, leaving nothing left. Kaneda stared blankly.

"_Your problem is you don't have a heart. And without a heart, you can't win"? Where did that come from? Oh well, I don't think anyone noticed._

Krillin appeared, clapping loudly. "Awesome!" He turned to Kaneda, Ed and Al, saying, "Ad for saving the coliseum and the city, I'd like to make you Junior Heroes, and…"

"WHADDAYA MEAN BY "JUNIOR HEROES!" screamed Ed. "WE JUST SAVED YOUR BUTTS!"

"Ahem! Let me finish," said Krillin, in slight annoyance. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you can fight in the remaining rounds of the tournament. Oh, and by the way, here's a prize."

He pulled a yellow stone out of his pocket and gave it to Kaneda. "It'll give you the Electro Bolt ability," he continued. "I think you might need it."

Kaneda nodded and put the stone away. "Thanks."

"If you want to move up," Goku said, "You'll have to keep fighting, and discover what it means to be a true hero."

"Ok, so we'll join in the games every now and then." Kaneda said.

The trio said goodbye, and left the coliseum, where they met Suzuka.

"Hey, are you alright?" Ed asked her. The woman nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Can I ask you something?" Suzuka turned to look at Al. "Why were you fighting us in the first place?"

The woman just sighed and answered, "Well, I was looking for someone, and Cell told me he'd help find them. I tried to use the power of darkness, but I found I couldn't get out. Thanks to you three, I may have a chance. So, how about we have a rematch sometime, with no dark forces involved?"

Kaneda grinned. "No thanks!"

As the three of them walked off, Suzuka smiled and whispered, "Good luck kid."

Somewhere else, Cell watched Kaneda and the Elric brothers leave, and he growled, "Great, just great. Two chances to take that kid down and they both failed. Worse of all, I loose my best warrior. Okay, so she's my only warrior, but who cares!" The angry look on his face faded as he said, "Wait a minute. Why am I getting worried? There will be other chances to take him down."

"So you haven't taken care of him yet?"

Cell spun around and saw that Myotismon (2) was looking at him curiously.

"What are you doing here?" Cell snapped angrily. "I never said you could come! And besides, I have things planned out perfectly!"

The pale-skinned being smirked as he said, "Very well then. Do what you wish. Just remember that that child is tougher than he looks…"

To be continued…

(1)-I really don't remember what she uses, so I'll just have her use ninja swords.

(2)- Remember the vampire-like guy?


	6. Chapter 5: Of Swords and Heartless

**_UPDATE 8/8/06:_** This chapter needed a lot of straightening out, as well as a few additions.

* * *

Chapter 5: Of Swords and Heartless

Kaneda stared out the window, his eyes scanning the land beneath him.

"Something the matter?"

He turned to see Morty looking at him.

"No. It's nothing."

"Head's up!" Ed shouted from his place over at the control panel. "Were' going to hit a World Barrier in a few seconds!"

The other boy's eyes widened. In Anime City, Gene told Kaneda about the World Barriers that kept beings of one world from going into another. Of course, ever since the Heartless appeared, the World Barriers had been lowered, but some parts of them were still up.

As the ship hit the invisible wall, it shook wildly, and they all fell over. As they did, Kaneda felt a strange tingling sensation…

"Wow. Nice duds."

Kaneda looked down at himself and gasped. He was now wearing an old-fashioned Japanese outfit, consisting of a white top and orange 'hakama' pants. Ed and Morty were dressed similarly, but Al looked like he usually did.

"W-what is this?" asked Ed in confusion, looking at his new red shirt and black hakamas.

"This must be the Shape Alterer (1) the Pharaoh told me about." Morty mused.

"Care to share with us?" asked Ed.

"Well," the shorter boy began, "Long ago, people believed that the separate worlds were a single world that was somehow split up. The barriers that keep the world separate can sometimes alter a person's body or attire to fit that of the worlds. It's pretty complicated, really."

"Oh." Kaneda turned to look out the window again. "Hey do you think your Pharaoh and my friends could be down there?" he asked, his voice rising with hope.

"In a place like that?" said Ed, dismissively waving a hand. "No way!"

"Well, we gotta try!" Kaneda ran over to the controls and began pushing buttons.

"Hey! What are you doing!"

Suddenly, the ship lurched forward violently, causing them to fall to the floor.

"Were' gonna crash!" shouted Al.

"Everyone hang on!" Kaneda screamed.

The huge ship began to plummet towards a forest that was close to a small town.

"This is all your fault, you know!"

"OH SHUT UP!"

* * *

World Name: Old Japan

* * *

When Kaneda came to, the first thing he was aware of was a splitting headache.

"Ow…my head…" He sat up and looked around. "Ed? Al? Morty? Where are you?" He was greeted by an echo, and slumped back down. "Great, just great…" Suddenly, his attention was distracted by the sound of footsteps. "Huh! Who's there?"

From behind a tree came a man dressed in a dirty yellow top with matching pants.

"Well, well well," he said cruelly. "What do we have here? A little boy separated from his mama?"

This infuriated Kaneda, who shouted back, "Whaddaya mean?"

The man just smirked and pulled out a sword. "I'm gonna enjoy this…" he rushed at Kaneda, but was stopped by another sword. Kaneda looked up and saw a man with bright red hair in a ponytail standing in front of him, with a sakabato (2) held out in front of him. He wore a pink/magenta top, white pants, two-toed socks, and sandals.

"You should not be hurting children," the man said in a loud and clear voice. "In fact, I think you should be leaving now."

The other man smirked. "What? Are you and that pig-sticker of yours going to make me? That thing couldn't cut a piece of paper!"

But his opponent only smiled, saying, "You should not judge this sword. It is more powerful than you think it is."

The first man sneered, and shouted, "Well, let's just see how powerful it IS!" And with that, he ran at the other man, who disarmed his attacker with one swift movement.

Wow! Kaneda thought in amazement, this guy's really good!

"Now GO!" With that single word, the first man took off as fast as he could. Kaneda stared after him.

"Need a hand?"

The boy looked up into the face of his rescuer, who had piercing violet eyes, and, curiously enough, a cross-shaped scar on his cheek.

"No, I'm fine." Crossly, the boy pushed himself to his feet.

"Very well then, Mr.….?"

"Kaneda. Shotaro Kaneda."

"Okay. So, Shotaro…"

"Please, just call me Kaneda."

"Alright. So, Kaneda, what are you doing out here? It's not safe. Doesn't your mother know where you are?"

"I don't have a mother," Kaneda said firmly. "She died when I was little." (3)

"I'm very sorry…"

"Well, don't be. The last thing I need is someone feeling sorry for me."

The man blinked. _He certainly has an attitude, that he does. _

Kaneda looked up. "Hey, I'm looking for my friends, have you seen them? One's a short kid with gold hair, and the other's in a big suit of armor."

The man shook his head. "No I haven't, I'm sorry." Kaneda frowned.

"Great…"

All of a sudden, the tree braches began to rustle. "It's not safe here," the man said. "We need to find a safe place."

As the two of them ran off, the man added, "By the way, my name is Kenshin Himura."

* * *

After about a half-hour of walking, they reached a small city.

"Welcome to the city of Tokyo," Kenshin announced. Kaneda looked around.

_Hmm…if I remember history class correctly…wasn't that the name of Tokyo before they changed it? But originally it was called Edo... could this world be located somewhere in the past…?  
_  
"Here we are," Kenshin said, snapping Kaneda out of his thoughts, "The Kamiya Dojo." In front of them lay an old-fashioned building surrounded by a wall.

Kaneda followed his rescuer through the gateway, and a voice shouted, "Kenshin! You're back!"

"Oro?"

A woman in a purplish kimono with dark hair in a ponytail jumped out of nowhere and hugged Kenshin tightly. "I was so worried!"

"Yes, I'm fine, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin said, disentangling himself from the woman's arms, "But we need to look after this young man here."

The woman looked at Kaneda and said, "Oh. So you're traveling just like the other three?"

Kaneda blinked. "Other…three?"

The woman nodded. "Yep. They're over there if you…" she never got a chance to finish her statement, as Kaneda ran past her.

"Wow. Excitable kid, isn't he?"

After a quick reunion with his friends, Kaneda and the others took the time to eat, as well as make a few introductions. Also living at the dojo was the young swordsman Yahiko Miyojin, the fighter Sanosuke Sagara, and two young children, Ayame and Suzume, who, at the moment, were playing with the small Digimon.

"Are you _sure_ you're not weirded out by that?" Morty asked as he watched them play.

"Yeah." Sano answered, "We found two similar creatures like them a few days ago." He pointed out two small blobs, one green, one brown, and they each had a certain amount of stubby horns on their heads. "They say their names are Gummymon and Chocomon," he continued, but I've never seen anything like them."

"So Kaneda," Kaoru began, "Where are you and your friends from?"

The quartet nearly choked on their food. (Ok, trio, since Al couldn't eat)

"W-what?" Morty stammered.

"You guys aren't from around here, are you?"

"Well, we're travelers," Ed said nervously.

"Yeah, and were looking for some people. One has dark hair and a short temper, and another also has dark hair and a sweet disposition." (4)

The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen them anywhere…"

"Maybe I could be of some assistance."

They all looked up to see a tall, muscular man with a beard walking through the gate. Kaoru stiffened immediately.

"You! What are you doing here?"

"Relax, Miss Kamiya," the man (named Gohei Hiruma) said calmly, "I am only here to talk. The recent invasion of dark beings has been quite troubling, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has." replied Kenshin.

"Well, with all of these beings around, I was wondering why. But I think I know now." He pointed at Kaneda, Ed, Al, and Morty, and shouted, "Because of them, the evil forces are attacking Tokyo!"

"WHAT! No way!" Kaneda shouted.

"That's bull-"

Before Ed could finish his remark, Kenshin stood up and said, "I understand what you mean, Mr. Hiruma, but I strongly doubt that a group of children could have anything to do with these attacks." The other man grimaced.

"Fine, but just keep in mind what I said. Good day."

And with that, he left.

"You know, he does have a point," Kaoru pointed out. "Maybe they do have something to do with these creatures."

"Are you crazy?" Yahiko exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Hey! I'm only trying to come up with something here!"

"Well forget you!" The boy ran off, past the gateway, and into the city.

"Yahiko!"

"Does stuff like this happen a lot?" Morty asked as he sweatdropped.

"Yeah, but you get pretty used to it after a while." Sano answered.

Kaneda sighed. "Guess we'd better go after him, huh?"

"Apparently so," agreed Ed.

As they got up, they heard Kenshin say, "Wait." They looked at him. "Let me come with you. I know this place better than you do."

Kaneda nodded. "Okay, sure."

* * *

They left the Dojo and began walking through the streets of Tokyo. People stopped and stared at the group.

"What are they staring at?" asked Kaneda.

"I think they're looking at me." Al commented.

"Well I wish they wouldn't!" grumbled Ed.

All of a sudden, Kenshin stopped.

"What is it?"

The man looked around. "Trouble." Was all he said before he ran in one direction. The others followed him to the river, where Yahiko was sitting. Behind him, Gohei was sneaking up, holding a sword (5)…

"MR. HIRUMA!"

The shout startled both Yahiko and Gohei, who looked to see the group running towards him.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Kenshin angrily.

"Oh, Mr. Himura!" I was just, um…"

"You were trying to hurt Yahihko, weren't you?" shouted Ed.

"Well, you see…"

"Mr. Hiruma, I suggest you go now, before you try to hurt anyone else." Kenshin's voice was like steel, and when Kaneda looked into his amethyst eyes, he saw that they were hard and cold. Inwardly he shuddered.

But as Gohei scrambled off, the moment passed, and his eyes became soft again. "Now then," he said, "Shall we go?" The others silently nodded in agreement.

But before they could go, a very familiar man jumped in front of them, shouting, "AHA! Now I got ya!"

"Great, not this guy again." Kaneda groaned.

"You know him?" asked Al.

"Yeah, but he was a weakling."

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!" the Bandit shouted angrily. "I'll get you this time…!"

He rushed at them, forcing the group to scatter.

"Tch. Pathetic." Remarked Ed casually. He swung his spear at the man, and it stuck him on the forehead, effectively knocking him out. "That was a waste of time."

"Let's get going," suggested Al, "I don't want to be around when that guy wakes up…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Gohei was walking around, grumbling to himself. "Stupid fools… I'm sick and tired of them… If only there was a way to take them out once and for all…"

All of a sudden, there was a rustling sound in a nearby bush. Gohei spun around, and gasped…

* * *

Back at the Dojo, everyone was thinking about the attack.

"Somehow I'm not surprised," commented Sano. "I mean he is pretty mad at Kenshin."

"How come?" asked Morty.

"Well," began Kaoru, "A while back, he was killing people mercilessly while claiming he was a student of the Kamiya Kashin style that we teach here. Kenshin was able to defeat him, and he was so humiliated he stopped killing."

"Boy, he really knows how to hold a grudge," said Al.

"Indeed," Kenshin said, nodding. "But I don't think…"

Suddenly, they heard Kaoru shout, "What are those?"

The group turned around and saw a group of about five to seven creatures loping towards them. They resembled black dogs, with blood red eyes and the Heartless crest on their foreheads.

"Stay back," Kenshin warned, "This may get messy."

The warriors rushed forward to engage the beasts in battle, blocking their attacks and trading blows.

"ELECTRO BOLT!" From Kaneda's fingertips came bolts of energy that struck one of the beasts (known as Shadow Wolves) on the forehead, and it let out a single howl before disappearing. "Cool!"

"Uh, I could use some help here!" exclaimed Al, as he blocked a Shadow Wolf's claws. Kenshin took care of it by slashing it in the back, and it vanished. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Ed, on the other hand, was having a good old time stabbing the beasts through the chest.

"Hah! Take that!"

Within minutes, most of the Shadow Wolves had been destroyed, and the few that remained ran off with their tails between their legs.

"Yeah! How do ya like that? Booyah! Who's da man!"

The others sweatdropped as they watched Kaneda whoop it up.

"Oh brother…"

"Somebody better stop him." said Kaoru, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Ok. Hey, hey Kaneda!"

The boy turned to face Sanosuke. "Yeah?"

"I think you can stop now."

Kaneda's face went red. "Oh, okay."

Suddenly, a loud scream echoed out from the woods.

"What was that?"

"It sounded like Gohei!"

"We should leave him, he's no good anyway." Yahiko muttered bitterly.

"Still, we should see if he's alright." said Kenshin.

Kaneda nodded. "Right."

And with that, they ran off.

"See anything?" Ed asked after a while.

"No," Al answered. "How about you Kaneda?"

"Nope."

"Well, keep your eyes peeled," said Kenshin, "He must be somewhere around here…"

Just then, the very same bandit that attacked them before ran out, shouting, "Hold it right there!"

"Geeze," commented Kaneda, sweatdropping, "Does this guy ever give up?"

"This time I'm ready for you!" the Bandit shouted, drawing his sword. Kenshin raised both hands.

"I'm sure we can talk this over…" but the bandit slashed at him, forcing Kenshin to jump out of the way. "…Or not."

Well, let' finish this guy once and for all!" shouted Kaneda, raising his weapon.

The four of them attacked the bandit, slashing and dodging blows. Eventually, the bandit was sent flying of into the distance."

"I'll get youuuuu…"

"Heh. More likely you won't." commented Ed.

"We'd better start looking for Mr. Hiruma." Kenshin reminded them.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot."

* * *

As they traveled though the town, they found a small black blob with yellow eyes named Botamon fast asleep in a porch. After awakening the creature and telling it they were going to take it with them, they continued searching, and uncovered a glowing green block.

"What's that?" asked Kaneda.

"It's very strange, that it is." Kenshin pointed out.

"Hold on," Interrupted Ed, "I think I saw this back at Egypt Kingdom, right Al?"

The giant suit of armor nodded his head. "Yeah. I think they're called…Power Blocks or something like that."

"Well, we'd better hold on to them, just in case." Kaneda said.

* * *

After a while, they reached a wooden bridge that lead out of the city.

"I've had it!" exclaimed Ed. "We've been looking all night, and we haven't even found him!"

"Oh, really?"

They turned and saw Gohei smirking at them. There was something about his grin that gave them the shivers. Kenshin's eyes narrowed.

"Wait. Something doesn't seem right." He muttered.

Gohei's smile grew larger. "I'd like you to meet my pet, the Black Cat!"

The air beside him began to ripple and waver, as the form of a monstrous black cat appeared. Its yellow eyes gleamed as it growled.

"W-what…"

"Now prepare to face your doom!"

The Black Cat turned invisible as it attacked the group, who had no idea where it was. Gohei took advantage of their situation to strike.

"Dammit!" Ed swore loudly, "We can't beat them if we don't know where that oversized hairball is!"

Kenshin only closed his eyes, letting his thoughts flow through his mind…

"There!" he shouted, "Strike there!"

Kaneda swung the Keyblade, and felt it come in contact with something. Then the Black Cat reappeared, hissing loudly as crimson blood dripped from its shoulder.

"Okay, GO!"

They rushed at them, with Ed and Al striking the Black Cat at the same time, and Kaneda and Kenshin attacking Gohei simultaneously. The panther let out a shriek as Ed's spear found its way into its heart, and it vanished. Gohei collapsed to the ground.

"H-how could I lose?" he sputtered, coughing up blood. "I had power…so much power…" he gave a final weak cough before he lay still, and his body disappeared too. The only thing in their place was a small pink stone.

"What's this?" Al asked, picking it up.

"I dunno, but we should probably take it with us." said Ed.

"Cone on," said Kaneda, "We'd better go before someone sees us."

One by one, they left, with the trampled grass being the only signs they were ever there, and the silent sky their only witness.

* * *

Back at the dojo, Kaneda, Ed, Al, and Kenshin were explaining their story to the others.

"…So he's really gone then?" asked Kaoru, softly, her voice breaking the silence that had fallen after they had finished.

"Yes." answered Kenshin. Yahiko scoffed.

"Well, you know what they say, good riddance to bad rubbish!"

"Yeah, I agree." said Kaneda. Suddenly, the Keyblade began to glow brightly.

"What the-?"

"Hey, didn't this happen before?" Al asked his older brother. Ed nodded.

"Yeah… but why is it happening now…?"

Kaneda stood up and followed the tugging to one of the walls that surrounded the dojo. Instantly, the shape of a key hole appeared, and a beam of light shot out from the tip of the blade, and hit the hole and created a clicking noise. (6)

"Wow…what was that?" asked Yahiko.

Kaneda shook his head.

"I... really don't know."

After spending the night at the Dojo, the group began heading out.

"Your ship crashed over by that forest," Sano told them. "It's not that far from here."

"Thanks." Kaneda said, looking downcast. Kenshin smiled and raised his chin.

"If you ever feel lonely," he said, "just remember that your friends will always be in your heart." The boy smiled.

"My friends are in my heart? Yeah, I'll remember that."

"Sounds kinda cheesy to me."

"YAHIKO!"

The others sweatdropped as Kaoru and Yahiko started arguing.

"Oh boy…"

Kaneda felt a tugging on his pants leg, and looked down to see Ayame and Suzume staring up at him. He crouched down so he could see them eye-to eye.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Kaneda, we'd like to send Gummymon and Chocomon with you, so you won't be lonely." Said Ayame, as she held up the green blob and smiled happily. The boy blinked.

"Really?"

"Yep!" added Suzume, "We want you to have them, 'cause we don't want you to be alone."

Kaneda smiled as he took the two Digimon from them.

"Thanks."

"Oh, and before I forget," said Kenshin, "I have something to give you." He pulled out a keychain that resembled a tiny sword. "I call it the 'Brave Warrior," he continued, "And I believe you may need it."

"Thank you." Said Kaneda, as he took the object and stuck it in his pocket.

"Don't forget, you're always welcome at the Kamiya Dojo!" added Kaoru.

"Ok, I'll remember!"

"Bye!"

The foursome left to find the ship, which happened to be not so far off.

"So, what do you think that glowing hole was for?" asked Al.

"I dunno, but maybe Gene does. We'd better head back to Anime City." Ed replied.

"Ok, but first…"

Kaneda removed the previous keychain and attached it to the Keyblade. The weapon glowed before it took on the shape of a Sakabatou with points on the end like a key's.

"Okay," he said, "Now I'm ready."

* * *

"Far away, in a dark realm, the shadowy beings watched Kaneda and company's latest adventure via crystal ball.

"What drew the Heartless to that world?" mused King. (The blond-haired guy)

"It was the samurai," answered Myotismon. (The vampire) His lust for power lured them there, but in the end, it was too much for them."

"Heh. Fool." Dr. Eggman smirked. (The round guy)

"That man was no match for the Keyblade Master," said King, "But the brat did find one of the Keyholes!"

"Don't worry," Myotismon assured him, "He won't find the others. And besides, he does not know of our other plan."

"You mean the Princesses?" asked Dr. Eggman. Myotismon nodded.

"Yes." He waved his hand and the image of Kaneda and his friends changed to one of Chihiro.

"Speaking of which…"

He waved his hand once more and the image on the crystal ball changed to one of a certain dark-haired boy…

_To be continued..._

* * *

1- Yeah, I know it's a lame name, but I couldn't come up with anything else, so give me a break! And don't blame me for the confusing explanation. Scientific stuff really isn't my thing.

2- That's a reverse-blade sword people.

3- I have no clue what happened to Kaneda's parents, so I'm just guessing.

4- Okay, okay, so I'm making a few things up…

5- If I remember the Anime correctly, Kenshin broke Gohei's hand so he could never wield a sword again. In this fic, that never happened, but he doesn't kill people anymore because Kenshin totally whipped his butt.

6- I know, I know, in the game, the Keyhole was at the waterfall, but I didn't know of any place to put it in my fic. Beside, the Kamiya Dojo is a pretty good place for something like that, right?


	7. Chapter 6: Return to Anime City

**Updated 10/5/06:** Just made some changes here and there.

* * *

Chapter 6: Return to Anime City 

In the streets of Anime City, a figure wearing a powder blue hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and black sneakers walked by himself, unnoticed by other passersby Tetsuo glanced around and asked, "Where am I?"

"Why, dear boy, you are in Anime City, home for the poor, the wretched, and the refuse."

Tetsuo spun around and saw a tall man striding towards him. He wore a blue suit with a red cape, and a red mask around his eyes. But what really caught his eye was that the figure's skin was a deathly pallor. Something about this guy gave him the creeps. "Who…what are you?" he stammered nervously.

The figure smiled, revealing pointed fangs, and bowed, saying, "My name is Myotismon, and you are-?"

"T-tetsuo Shima."

"Ah. Well, Mr. Shima, I believe you are looking for your friends, are you not?"

The boy blinked. "H-how'd…?"

"I know many things," Mytoismon answered, "And I know that one of your friends is around here somewhere, but he may have moved on and made new friends."

"What do you mean by that?" Tetsuo shouted angrily.

The man only gave him a wicked smile. "You'll see." And with that, he disappeared into thin air, leaving no sign that he was ever standing there.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaneda, Ed, Al, and Morty had just arrived at Anime City where they were instantly greeted by Gene and the others.

"Well, how did it go?" the gunman asked. "Did you find any Keyholes?"

"Keyhole?" echoed Kaneda. "Is that what that was?"

"The Keyhole is very important," Jim explained. "The Heartless travel though it to the world's core and do all sorts of bad stuff. And when the core is damaged enough, the world disappears forever."

"WHAT!"

The foursome's exclamation of shock caused people to poke their heads out their windows, blinking sleepily.

"SSHHH! Not so loud!" Gene warned them.

"Oh, sorry." Morty whispered quietly.

"Anyway," added Aisha, "I think the Keyblade locks them, so the Heartless can't get through."

Kaneda though of his friends Kenshin, Kaoru and the rest, and inwardly he sighed in relief.

"Only you can lock the Keyholes and save the world." Melfina said softly.

"So no pressure huh?" Ed remarked dryly.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Kaneda pulled the Power Block out of his pocket. "I found this ins one of the worlds. What does it mean?"

Gene examined it and said, "I don't know very much about these things, but I think Rick does. You should pay him a visit and see what he thinks. Oh, and by the way-"he pulled a silvery stone out of his pocket and tossed it to Kaneda-"I found this while back and I think you should have it. It's called an EarthStone."

"Uh, thanks." Kaneda said, pocketing the object.

"You know," Gene added, "Maybe the worlds that were destroyed can return if you find a way to stop the Heartless."

"Maybe…"

* * *

"So, how do you think that stone thing does?" asked Al sometime later.

"I dunno. Maybe someone around here-Oomph!" Kaneda fell backwards as he walked into something. Looking up, his eyes widened as he realized he'd just walked into a humanoid cactus wearing boxing gloves.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, young man; I guess wasn't watching where I was going!"

Kaneda blinked. "Uh, it's no problem."

Then besides the cactus, appeared what looked like a giant swan. "Excuse me," it said in a female voice, "I was wondering if you had seen any small creatures running around."

"Hey, hold on a minute," said Ed, "I think we might have… Come on guys."

A few minutes later, they returned with their arms full of small Digimon.

"Are these the squirts you've been looking for?" asked Kaneda, struggling to keep the wiggling Koromon in his arms.

"Ohthankyouthankyouthankyou!" shouted the cactus (also a female), embracing Kaneda in a very tight hug.

"Uh, you're welcome," the boy groaned, "Now, do you think you could let go of me?"

"Oh, sorry."

The cactus let go, and Kaneda fell backwards. He got up and frowned before proceeding to the painful task of pulling out all of the needles, wincing as he removed each one.

"As a reward, for bringing back our children," said the swan, "We'd like to give you something."

"What-ouch-is-ouch-it?" Kaneda asked in between yelps of pain. The cactus pulled out what looked like a torn page. (1)

"It's a page I found one day," she said. "I've been trying to find out who it belongs to, but I'm having no luck so far. Maybe you could hold on to it for me."

"Uh sure, okay." Ed replied, gently taking the page from her glove and carefully putting it away in his traveling bag.

As they watched the two creatures walk off with the smaller ones, Al said, "Aw isn't that sweet?"

"Yeah - ouch - If – ouch – you - ouch - think – ouch- a - ouch - Ouch- mutant - ouch -Bird - ouch - And - ouch - a - ouch - Giant- ouch - Walking - ouch – Pincushion – ouch- Is - ouch - sweet." Kaneda grumbled, as he continued pulling out the needles.

"Well, we'd better get going." Morty reminded them.

"Oh-ouch- okay. Let's – ouch – go!"

* * *

After helping Kaneda remove the last of the needles, the foursome went into the Accessory Shop, where they found Rick busy restocking shelves. He turned when he heard the bell ring.

"What is- oh, it's you again."

"Hey, I need you to look at this." Kaneda said, taking out the Power Block. Rick got off the ladder he was standing on and went over to examine it.

"Hmm. Looks like a Navigational Power Block."

"Do you know what it does?" asked Al.

Rick stared at them in surprise. "What? You're flying a ship and don't know what a Navigational Power Block does? You must be worse off then I thought you were. Anyways, a Navigational Power Block is used for traveling to other worlds. I can install it for you, but first, I want you to deliver something."

He went to the back of the store, and returned with a big leather-bound book.

"I found this a month ago," he told them, "But it was dirty and the pages were torn out. I did a pretty decent job of repairing it though." He added, as if wanting to prove to them that he did fix it.

"So, where do you want us to take it?" Ed questioned, examining the book.

"There's an old house down the street," Rick answered, "I think there's someone there who might take an interest in it."

"Okay." Kaneda replied. As they were about to leave, Rick stopped them.

"Hey Kaneda, do you still have that Ability Stud I gave you?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," the boy replied, pulling the object out of his pocket. "I totally forgot about it." (2)

"Well, I can put it in for you if you want." Rick said, with a slight smile.

"Uh, are you sure you're licensed for this?" Al asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. It will only take a second…"

* * *

"OW!"

"And were' done!"

Rick stepped back to admire his handiwork. Kaneda glowered at him, rubbing his ear.

"That hurt!" he shouted angrily.

"What? Did you expect it to tickle?"

Kaneda rubbed his ear. "That hurt just as bad as when that cactus hugged me." He complained.

"Cactus? Oh, you mean Togemon? Yeah, she's pretty nice, just be careful. The other day I found something for her, and she went totally nuts! It took me a while just to get all the needles out. But I probably didn't take as much time for you, since you must have had all your friends helping." His gaze then fell on Ed and Al's beaten-up weapons.

"Looks like you need new equipment," he said. "There's a weapons shop not that far from here, you'll know it when you see it."

**_BOOM! BOOM!_**

A loud sound from far off caused them all to jump in surprise.

"W-what was that?" Al stammered nervously.

"It must have been the old bell at the Gizmo Shop." Rick said thoughtfully. "I wonder…"

* * *

Shortly afterwards, the group stood under a wooden sign that read, "Zatch Bell Weapons".

"This must be the place." Kaneda said. He pushed the door open, and a bell rang softly, signaling their arrival. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

The shop was small and dusty, and the walls and floors were cluttered with various types of weapons.

"Well, we'd certainly recognize this place as a weapons store." Ed muttered.

Kaneda glanced around and stopped. Sitting on a counter was what looked like a doll with blond hair and golden eyes. It wore a black dress-like outfit with a white bow on the front, and blue shoes.

"Why would a doll be in a place like this?" Al asked curiously.

"Huh. It kinda looks like you, Ed!" Kaneda pointed out. (3)

"Weird." Ed began poking the little doll.

"Um, could you please not do that?"

Ed jumped back in surprise. "Who said that?"

"I did!"

"AH! It's alive!" Ed screamed, practically leaping up into Al's arms.

"Of course I'm alive!" the doll said, sounding slightly annoyed. He (they guessed it was a he) jumped off the counter and said, "Hi! My name's Zatch Bell! And you are…?"

"Zatch! What did I tell you about startling the customers?"

The turned and saw a young man walking out of the back, a red book nestled underneath one arm.

"Aww! I was just having fun, Kiyo!"

From behind the boy came a teenage girl, smiling happily. "Hi! Welcome to Zatch Bell Weapons!" She said cheerfully. "How may we help you?"

"Uh, we're looking for new weapons, a shield and spear to be precise." Kaneda said, watching as Ed jumped down from on top of his brother.

"Yep, we got those!" the girl said, smiling. She walked over to a rack and picked out a spear, then turned to the group. "So, which one of you three uses a spear?" she asked.

"Uh, I do," said Ed, stepping forward.

"Well then," the girl said, handing him weapon. "You'll love our Mythril Lance. It's light, durable, and easy to use! 'Course, all lances are pretty easy to use, you just throw them, or use them to slash and stab…"

**_CRASH!_**

They all turned to see Zatch lying in a heap surrounded by various kinds of shields.

"Zatch!"

Just then, the bell over the door rang, and they all looked over there, but instantly froze. Standing in the doorway was a Heartless Soldier.

"Don't move," said Kiyo, pulling out his book and opening it, "We got this one, right Zatch?"

The little boy pulled himself out of the pile of shields and grinned. "You bet!"

Kiyo pointed to a certain passage and shouted, "**_ZAKER!_**"

Instantly, Zatch's eyes went blank, and his mouth dropped open, only to unleash a huge burst of electricity that sent the Heartless monster flying through the air and into a fruit stand across the street, where it vanished.

Kiyo grinned as he closed the door, and turned back to the others. "How was that?" Kaneda and the others could only stare slack-jawed.

"Uh…"

"So, are you gonna buy anything or what?"

"Oh, right!" said Kaneda, snapping out of his stupor. "Um… we'll take this." He reached down and picked up a shield and put it on the counter. Kiyo nodded.

"Okay, let's see…that adds up to… ¥1853."

"¥1853!" Kaneda shouted angrily. "Are you nuts?"

"Take it or leave it."

Grumbling, Kaneda pulled out a few bills and coins, which he dropped on the counter.

"Thank you," said Kiyo, scooping up the money. "Please come again!"

* * *

"So now what?" asked Al after they left the Weapons Shop.

"Well, we still have to deliver that old book, so we'd better get on to that." Kaneda replied.

After walking a little more, they found the old house that Rick had told them about. Clearly, no one had been in there for a while, because some of the shutters hung off at a crazy angle, and the paint was faded.

"Oh well, nobody's home, let's go!"

Kaneda grabbed Ed by the arm as he tried to run off. "Come one. You're not _scared_, are you?"

Ed tried to smile bravely. "M-me? Scared? Never!" And with that, he walked to the door and pushed it open. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

The room was mostly empty, except for some furniture here and there, but they were either covered in cobwebs or powdered by a fine layer of dust.

"Hello?" Al's voice echoed throughout the cavernous house.

"What are you doing here?"

The four of them jumped in surprise. Turning around, they saw a young boy with brown hair in a green Chinese-style outfit.

"Do you think he's a Heartless?" asked Al.

"No. He doesn't look like one." Ed pointed out. The boy looked confused.

"Huh? Oh no, the Pharaoh sent me to help you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now…"

The group looked around in amazement, for the room had lit up, and there wasn't a trace of dust or cobwebs anywhere. It was like someone had taken a giant vacuum cleaner and sucked it all up.

"Okay," the boy continued, "In this place, I can help you learn magic. By the way, I'm Sayoran Li, but you can just call me Li. And these are my helpers."

From another room came a pretty young girl dressed in pink and a yellow mouse with wings.

"Hi!" the girl said cheerfully. "My name's Sakura Avalon and this is Kero."

"It's Keroberos." The mouse said annoyed.

"Kero is better."

"But you make me sound like a frog!"

"Ahem." Li cleared his throat and got the other two's attention. "Now then," he said, turning back to Kaneda and the others, "Is there anything you want?"

"Oh yeah!" Kaneda pulled out the old book and the page he had gotten from Swanmon and Togemon. "Rick told me to give this to you."

"Hmm. We'll take a look at it later." Li said, putting them away on a table.

"Oh, and there's also this funny stone thing," added Kaneda, pulling it out.

"It looks like a summon gem." Li said, after examining the object.

"A summon gem? What's that?" asked Ed.

"When a world is destroyed," Kero began, "Usually everyone in it disappears, but if a being's heart is strong enough, they survive in gem form."

"I can release it." Sakura added with a smile.

"You can really do that?" asked Morty.

"Just watch!" Sakura pulled a small key out of her pocket and shouted, "The key that hides the forces of darkness! Show your true identity! (4)" Instantly the key changed into a pink staff with a star inside a ring the top with a white wing on each side. "RELEASE!" She brought the staff down on the stone, and there was a huge burst of light, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

When it cleared, they were surprised to see a huge silver wolf in the middle of the room. Its eyes slowly opened, and it growled viciously, and to their surprise, spoke in a female voice. "Where am I? Where are my children?" It (Her?) turned to them and growled, "And who are you!"

Now take it easy," Kaneda said, holding up both hands, "We're not going to hurt you."

"Humph. And why should I, Moro, Goddess of the Forests believe a human?"

"You know," Li said, "It's possible that when a world is restored, you will return there."

The creature blinked. "Fine then. I will stay with you for now, but when my world is restored to its former glory, I will leave." And with that, she returned to her stone form. Sakura picked it up and handed it to Kaneda.

"There." she said. "When a spirit is released, you can summon them to help you in battle. And if you find any more, you know where to bring them."

* * *

After saying their goodbyes, the group decided to head back to Rick's in order to see if he had installed the Navigational Power Block yet.

"Hey Kaneda!"

The teenager spun around and his eyes widened as he saw a familiar figure running towards him.

"Tetsuo!"

The two boys ran up to greet each other.

"Were have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!" Kaneda exclaimed.

Well, I was looking for you too," Tetsuo interjected, "And I also met this weird guy who—"suddenly a Shadow leapt at them out of nowhere, but Kaneda easily destroyed it with his Keyblade. Tetsuo's jaw dropped. "H-how…?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm the Keyblade Master, or something like that. Weird, huh? Oh, and these are my new friends, Morty, Edward and his younger brother Alphonse."

"Hi."

"Hey there."

"Hello."

"Anyway, are you gonna come with us? We got this really cool ship!"

Tetsuo just stood there silently, and then his face became stern. "No thanks." With that, he ran off.

"Hey Tetsuo!" Kaneda tried going after him, but the other boy was faster. "Damn." He turned back to the others, saying, "Well at least he's okay. I guess I can find him later. Come on, let's go find Rick."

* * *

When they returned to Rick's shop, they found not just him, but also Gene, Melfina, Aisha and Jim waiting for them.

"What's with the gathering?" Kaneda asked, "You having a party or something?"

"No, actually, we wanted to stop by and see ya." Jim said, smiling.

"And to warn you about Myotismon." Gene added.

"Mytoismon? Who's that?" Ed asked confused. Everyone else (excluding Al, Morty, and Kaneda) looked surprised.

"You've never heard of him?" asked Melfina gently.

"He's a total freak, and he's the reason the Heartless are roaming Anime City," Aisha said, "And he has all sorts of evil powers!"

"They say he's a vampire that turns his victims into vampires if they're lucky." Jim added.

Kaneda raised an eyebrow. "_If _they're lucky…?"

Gene nodded and replied, "Yeah. Apparently, you can only become a vampire if you're a virgin. If you're not, then you turn into a ghoul, a vampire's undead slave." (5) The foursome gulped.

"Anyway," Rick said, "The only hope for stopping him and the Heartless is using the notes Dartz wrote down. But they're scattered around the words, and I think Myotismon has at least one of them." I put in the Navigation Power Block," he added, "And I threw in another one, just for the heck of it. It'll let you travel to new worlds, but there may be some weird side effects."

"Hey, do you remember the bell ringing earlier?" asked Melfina.

Ed nodded. "Yeah. I wonder what that was."

"Well, there's somewhat of a legend behind it," Aisha began, "But it's all boarded up."

"Why don't you give it a look?" Gene suggested. "All you have to do is ring it three times."

* * *

Outside the shop in the street, two beings stood. One was a teenage boy, the other, an evil vampire. Myotismon turned to Tetsuo and said, "You see? While you were off looking for your friends, Kaneda simply replaced you. If you come with me, I can help you find what you want…" And with these words, he held out a hand. 

Tetsuo hesitated, and he could hear a tiny voice in the back of his mind, begging him to say no. But he took the evil Digimon's hand, wincing slightly at the cold feel of it. "Okay, I'll go with you."

Myotismon smirked evilly. "Excellent…"

* * *

Meanwhile, the group made their way into the old building. A series of boards blocked their path.

"I think I'd better handle this." said Al. With a single punch, he broke through the boards to reveal a small, empty room. A single rope hung from the ceiling.

"Well, this is it." Kaneda said boldly. "Let's just see what it does…"

He grabbed the rope, and pulled three times. Suddenly, a ball of light materialized out of nowhere, flew around their heads, and shot off.

"Hey! Follow that light!" shouted Ed.

They ran outside into the courtyard where a keyhole had magically appeared above a fountain. But before the group could get there…

WHAM! Everyone had to jump out of the way as a giant fist hit the ground in front of them. They all looked up as a familiar figure loomed over them.

"Great. Not this guy again…" Kaneda muttered.

The Guard Armor suddenly stopped and stood there, quietly, as if waiting for them to make their move.

Ed took a step forward. "Wait," said Al, holding an arm in front of his brother, "Something doesn't feel right."

Suddenly, the Guard Armor reared back as what looked like black lighting struck it, forcing the others to cover their eyes. When they could look again, they saw that the Guard Armor was now black with red arms and legs, as well as the Heartless crest on its chest. The blank area in the visor now held two glowing red eyes. The newly-formed Shadow Armor burst into flames, and wordlessly began moving towards them.

"Look out!"

Everyone dodged the creature's flaming fist as it slammed it into the ground. Ed grinned as he shouted, "Time to cool off! BLIZZARD WAVE!"

The icy blast quenched the armor's flames, allowing Kaneda to strike it in the chest. The Shadow Armor stumbled backwards before bursting into flames again. And so this pattern repeated, until…

"AL! LOOK OUT!"

Al turned when he heard Kaneda shout his name, but it he didn't move fast enough, and his head was knocked off. It fell to the ground with a 'thud', followed by the rest of his body.

"NOOOOO!"

Angrily, Kaneda turned to face the Shadow Armor. "Okay, _now _you're gonna get it! Ready Ed?"

The boy in question smirked. "Ready!"

"DOUBLE BLIZZARD WAVE!"

The cold wave permanently put out the fires surrounding the Shadow Armor, leaving it open for attack.

"HYYAAAAAH!"

Together, they jumped into the air and slammed their weapons into the heart symbol on the Shadow Armor's chest. It collapsed into a pile of rubble, and Kaneda was able to lock the Keyhole.

"There," he said, wiping his brow. "Too bad about Al though…"

"What do you mean?"

Startled, Kaneda slowly turned around and saw Al's body get up from the ground!

"AAAAHHH!"

Morty, who had been hiding behind the fountain when the fighting started jumped back also in fright.

"What the--!"

Al bent down and picked up his head, before putting it back in its usual place. "I guess we should explain, huh Nii-san?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah." He turned to the others and cleared his throat. "You see, were' Alchemists, and that means we can turn things into others, but there are rules to it."

"Rules?"

"Yeah. Say something is made of wood. It can only be turned into something that is also made of wood. This is called **_The Law of Equivalent Exchange_**." He sighed sadly before continuing. "There's also something called Human Alchemy, which is forbidden for some reason. They say that God hates it when people trespass in his domain. We only did it because our mother died suddenly. We were young and foolish at the time, and we didn't know any better. We thought we could bring her back. But…" He closed his eyes, remembering that day. "…We failed."

"Nii-san lost his right leg, but I on the other hand, lost my whole body, and he had to sacrifice his left arm in order to put my soul into the suit of armor that you see before you." Al put in.

"Then how--?"

Ed sighed and took off one of his gloves, revealing metal underneath. "A friend of mine does Automail replacement parts," he told them," And I was able to get some. That's why they call me the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"And your mother...?"

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"**The thing we brought back wasn't even human anymore."**

The other two just stood there, in quiet shock as their brains processed this new information.

"We wanted to find something called the Philosopher's Stone," Al continued, "Because it would restore us to normal. So we joined the military in order to find it. But then the Heartless came…"

**_FLASHBACK_**

"_FULLMETAL!" _

_The Colonel's angry shout echoed throughout the hallways. _

Al sighed. "_Looks like he has it in for you now, Nii-san."_

"_Well, let's just get it over with." _

_The two brothers made their way into the office of Colonel Roy Mustang, who looked very annoyed._

"_I heard you two destroyed a guard outpost surrounding a village." He said, glaring daggers at them._

"_The people were being enslaved! I had no choice!"_(6) _Ed argued back._

"_That still doesn't give you the right to--"_

_Just then, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye ran in, breathing heavily and looking like she had run a thousand miles._

"_Sir!" she gasped, "We're under attack!"_

_The Colonel stood up instantly. "What?"_

"_Hurry!" _

_She ran out the door, and the Colonel followed her. Ed and Al sighed before running after them. _

---

_The streets were filled with cries of fear, and pain as people, fled trying to escape the dark beings who hounded them. All around, towers of flamed licked at the buildings._

"_This is horrible…" whispered Ed, and his brother nodded in agreement._

"_What are those things!" Colonel Mustang shouted over the roar of the flames._

"_I-I don't know sir! They just appeared and—look out!"_

_A dark being had leapt at the Colonel, who incinerated it with a blast of fire, but more dark creatures started coming, attracted by the sounds of battle. Colonel Mustang simply torched them, and 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye shot as many as she could. Meanwhile, the Elric brothers found themselves surrounded._

"_Time to do what we do best!" Ed grinned. He pulled off the glove covering his right hand and used alchemy to turn it into a blade that he used to slash through them, while Al merely punched them away, though they didn't pay much attention to him. (7)_

"_Help!"_

_They turned to see Shou Tucker, the "Sewn-Life Alchemist" running through the streets with his daughter Nina and their dog Alexander._

_"Hurry Nina!"_

"_Daddy! I can't…"_

_The small girl tripped and fell, making her an easy target for the dark beings…_

"_NINA!" Ed tried to run towards her aid, but he was stopped when the earth began to shake wildly._

"_W-what's happening!" Al shouted._

_They could only watch as the world around them began to shake and apart like it was the block city of an angry child… _

---

"Hey! Hello? Are you up?" 

Blinking away the sleep from his eyes, Ed groggily lifted his head and stared into a kind face of a young woman.

"_Ah!" he shouted, reeling back. "Who are you! Where am I?"_

The girl raised her hands. "Calm down now. You're in the Egypt Kingdom."

He blinked. "Egypt Kingdom?"

"_Yes, a world ruled by the Pharaoh Yami." (8)_

_Ed blinked, and then his eyes widened. "Hey! Where's my brother?"_

"_Over here, Nii-chan." He looked up to see his brother standing in the doorway. _

"Al!"

He got out of his bed and ran to his brother's side. "Are you alright?"

A nod. "Yes, I'm fine. But you've been out for three days. Lady Serenityover there has been taking care of you." He looked at the girl, who smiled back at them.

"_Now that that's settled, I'll take you to see the Pharaoh." _

---

The stone hallways were teeming with servants rushing to and fro to keep the place clean. Ed noticed that some of them were human, while others were monstrous beings of different kinds.

"Here we are!" The girl announced, pointing to a giant pair of double doors with an eye shape carved into them. "The throne room!"

The doors swung open to reveal a large room. The walls were decorated with colorful wall hangings, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of burning incense.

"Presenting His Majesty Pharaoh Yami and Queen Tea!"

The two brothers looked up, and saw two golden jewel-studded thrones at the end of the hallways, where a young man and an equally young woman sat. Ed took one look at them and started laughing.

"**That's** the Pharaoh! He's almost as young as I am!"

"Nii-san, I don't think you should…"

"Ahem." They all turned to face the Pharaoh, who had risen from his seat. "It seems these latest refugees are not very respectful."

His words caught Ed's attention. "Refugees?"

The queen nodded. "Yes, refugees from the worlds destroyed by the Heartless."

"What are the Heartless anyway?"

"They are evil beings," the Pharaoh said sadly, "Creatures without hearts who steal them from others. They have destroyed countless worlds and yours along with them."

'Were there any other survivors?" Al asked hopefully.

"Well, no human ones that we know of…"

From behind the thrones, a golden retriever ran out and knocked Ed to the ground before licking his face.

"Ah! Stoppit Alexander! Getoff!"

"It seems he knows you." Lady Serenity said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah."

"You are welcome to stay here," the Pharaoh said, "Considering how your world is no more."

Ed pushed Alexander off and frowned. "Well…okay, I guess. It looks like we don't have a choice."

**END FLASHBACK**

"And that was it," Ed told Kaneda and Morty. "We'd pretty much given up hope of finding the Philosopher's Stone, since our world was destroyed, but if you can get rid of the Heartless and return the worlds, and then we can start trying to find it again."

"Wow. That's some story." Was all Kaneda could say after the brothers revealed their sad tale.

Morty cleared his throat. "Uh, maybe we should start going? You know, looking for the Keyholes?"

Kaneda nodded. "Oh yeah. Come on, let's go. But let's stop by Rick's shop first, and tell him we're leaving."

* * *

When they got to the shop, they found that it was pretty much empty.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Al froze. "Hey, does anyone else hear snoring?"

The four of them looked around. "I think it's coming from over there." Ed commented, pointing to behind the counter. Slowly, they moved quietly over to the counter, where they found there very last thing they would have expected.

Lying there was a boy around their age, with messy brown hair wearing an open white shirt, green pants, sandals, a beaded necklace, and thick orange headphones.

"Yoh!"

The boy sat up and yawned before grinning at the smaller boy. "Hey Morty. I was looking for ya."

"You mean _we_ were looking for him."

Kaneda, Ed and Al jumped in surprise as a figure appeared. The being was a young man with spiky silver hair in a samurai-like outfit. Morty and the boy didn't seem surprised though.

The boy scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah, I forgot." He turned to the others, who looked frightened. "By the way, my name's Yoh Asakura, and this is Amidamaru."

"Hello."

"Uh, h-hi."

"What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a ghost before?"

"Not really."

Morty looked at his friend. "Hey Yoh, do you want to come with us? We're on a quest to save the worlds."

"I dunno," Ed said, crossing his arms. "Do you think he can handle it?"

Yoh grinned. "Sure! Check this out!" he reached and pulled out a big sword. "And with Amidamaru, we can handle anything!"

Kaneda shrugged. "Good enough for me. You're in." And with that, the two of them shook hands

* * *

Sometime after they finally located the others and said their goodbyes, the group headed to the ship.

"Wow!" Yoh exclaimed, examining their craft with amazement. "It's huge!"

"Yep," Kaneda said grinning, "It is, isn't it?"

"Hey come on! We gotta get going!" shouted Ed.

They all got into the ship and blasted off into space, or whatever they call it.

"Maybe we should try that new navigation thing Rick gave us." Morty suggested.

"I dunno, he said there would be a few side effects…"

Meanwhile, Yoh spotted a big red button. "Hm. Wonder what this does." And with that, he leaned over to push it…

"No wait!" Shouted Kaneda, who had spotted him, but it was too late and…everything took on a puppet-ish form. (9)

"Is this going to happen every time someone pushes that button?" asked Morty.

"Hold on, I think I got it." Said Ed as he pushed the button again… and now they were all females. (Al even had a slimmer figure!)

"ED!"

"Hold on, hold on!"

After a few more tries, in which everything went totally crazy, they figured it out, and everyone returned to normal.

"Whew!" exclaimed Kaneda, "Glad that's over!"

"Hey, I'm picking up a Heartless reading from this nearby planet!" Al exclaimed.

Kaneda nodded. "Okay, let's go!"

_To be continued…

* * *

_

NOTE: As you can see, I basically outlined the premise of the **_Fullmetal Alchemist_** anime/manga, but I made a few changes to the storyline so that it would fit. 

(1)-Well, I'm just making up what the rewards are.

(2)- Do'h! I forgot about that too!

(3)- Has anyone else but me noticed this?

(4)- I don't remember how this goes, so I'm using the version from the manga.

(5)- Here, I'm referring to the kickass anime/manga**_ Hellsing_**.

(6)- Yeah, I'm making this up. So sue me (Not literally of course!)

(7)- Okay, here's how I see it: Al is really a soul in a suit of armor, but he has no actual heart to speak of. So of course, the Heartless, who seek people's hearts, can't get his. Unless he has a spiritual one… uh, never mind. (I think I'm giving myself a headache…)

(8)- As you know, the Pharaoh's real name is Atem (It's Atemu in Japan, but this I think the English version sounds more Egyptian). However, I prefer to use the name I'm more used to.

(9)- This part was inspired by the movie version of _A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_, which **_I_** personally liked.


	8. Chapter 7: Ravelution!

Sorry about the long wait, everyone. GOMEN NASAI!

This chapter will be based off the anime Rave Master, but I'll probably make some stuff up, since I don't remember very much about it.

* * *

Chapter 8: Ravelution! 

In an undisclosed place, King was talking to Myotismon.

"And what of the Keyhole?" the vampire asked the warrior.

"The Heartless are searching for it even as we speak." King replied. "As for the Princess…"

Just then, a yellow-skinned creature holding a pair of maracas scurried up to them. "Excuse me boss," he said, "But I've searched everywhere for the girl, and I can't find her!"

"Idiot!" King shouted, smacking him across the head. "Can't you do anything right!"

The creature whimpered and muttered, "S-sorry Master…"

King turned to Myotismon and growled, "That girl's more trouble than she's worth!"

"You said you could handle things." Myotismon said in amusement.

"Symphonia (1) is full of places for her to hide, but we'll find her, one way or another."

"I hope so. Without the seven Princesses, our plan will fail."

"Don't worry." He turned to several heartless and announced, "Find the Princess and bring her to me!" And with that, the Heartless scurried off to do their master's bidding,

"Remember, if you immerse yourself in the darkness too long, the Heartless will devour you." Myotismon said.

But King waved him away, saying, "I don't need your concern."

Little did they realize that a teenage girl was crouching behind a box, listening to everything they were saying. Silently, she ran off.

* * *

**_World Name: Symphonia  
_**_

* * *

_

Meanwhile, Kaneda and company had landed on the surface of the planet. They also found a button that would teleport them to a safe spot. After a few mishaps, they managed to get down safely into a city alley where they found a pink blob called Motimon.

As the group was traveling through the busy streets, Al suddenly stopped and looked up at a rusty fire escape.

"Huh? What is it?" asked Kaneda.

"There's someone up there," he replied, pointing. Instantly, a teenage girl stepped nervously out of an alley. She had chin-length dirty blond hair and big chocolate-colored eyes.

"I can see you're good people." She said gently.

"Uh, who are you?" asked Yoh.

"My name's Ellie," the girl replied. "And I need your help. Some guys are chasing me, and…"

"Too late."

They spun around and saw a young man walk out of the shadows. He had spiky blond hair that defied the laws of gravity, and wore a black cape. Sheathed on his back was a huge sword.

"Greetings," he said, "I am known as King, and I want that girl."

"King?" Ed scoffed. "What kind of stupid name is that?"

The man glared at him. "Silence whelp! Give me the girl, and you won't be harmed."

"Over our dead bodies!" shouted Kaneda, baring his weapon.

King merely scoffed. "So you're the Keyblade Master? No problem, my minions will take care of you easily." He snapped his fingers, and several people dressed in armor appeared. "Now destroy them and take the girl!"

He stepped back into the shadows, and the warriors, called 'Shadow Guard Soldiers' attacked with swords and lances, but the heroes blocked them.

"Ellie! Get out of here! We'll hold them off!" Ed shouted.

"B-but what about you?"

"Just go!"

The girl turned and ran off down the street, leaving the others to fight their opponents. They ducked and dodged, trading blows.

"Boy, these guys don't quit!" exclaimed Kaneda.

"Then we'll just have to push 'em back!" Ed shouted, pulling out a small stone. Al quickly realized what it was.

"Nii-san, is that…?"

"Yep. Now keep them off me so I can do a summoning!"

Ed shut his eyes and concentrated hard on the stone as wisps of white smoke ran off its smooth surface.

**_"Goddess of the Forest! I summon you! Come forth, Moro!"_**

There was a flash of light, and in the middle of the street stood the enormous wolf. She smirked to reveal her fangs before letting loose with a huge howl, so powerful that not only did it send the Shadow Guard Soldiers flying back several feet; it set off every car alarm and broke every window in a five-block radius. The giant beast smirked again before she vanished.

"Now _that_ was cool!"

"Ed, when I get my hearing back, remind me to _kill_ you."

Once they could hear again, the group set off down the street.

* * *

As they walked down the street, (and finding a white blob called SnowBotamon), they heard what sounded like someone banging on a wall and a muffled voice shouting, "Get me out of here!" 

"Huh? Did you hear…?"

"Help! Help!"

"It's coming from over there!"

They ran into an alley where they found a huge wooden crate. There seemed to be noises coming from inside.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out!" Ed shouted. He and Yoh dug their weapons into the side of the crate and pulled it open. Out came a light blue squashy-looking thing with yellow tentacles underneath its body to move it around, long thin hands, black eyes, a big nose, and big lips.

"Oh thank you thank you! I thought I was going to be in there forever!"

"Uh, what or who are you?" Ed managed to stammer.

"Oh, how rude of me! My name is Griffin Kato, but you can just call me Griff for short." And with that, he turned and 'walked' down the street.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"I have to find my friends! They're in danger!" The creature scurried off down the street, Kaneda and the others following closely. Then they slid to a stop, and stared. Griff was petting a lilac-colored cross between a dinosaur and a rabbit attached to a wooden cart. Griff looked up at them.

"Oh, you want to come along? Well, come on then."

He jumped on the creature's back, and Kaneda, Ed, Al and Yoh climbed into the cart.

"Hang on! HIYAH!"

The creature's head started vibrating, slowly at first, then faster and faster, until it was a blur. Then it took off at an incredible speed, sending the group flying into the back of the cart.

"COULD YOU SLOW DOWN?" Ed screamed at Griff.

"No time! We gotta hurry!"

* * *

After a wild ride that nearly ended in disaster when they almost hit a giant rock, they ended up in a desert. There, they found two people fighting off Heartless. (2) 

"Damn! There's to many of them!" shouted the first, a teenage boy with white/silver hair and violet eyes wearing a white T-shirt under a black over shirt and white jeans, as he used his sword to slash away the evil creatures.

"We'll just have to keep fighting!" shouted back the other one, a young man with spiky black hair and metal studs over his left eye, stabbing a Heartless with his spear.

At that moment, the others arrived by cart. "Hey! I think those guys are in trouble!" Ed shouted, pointing.

"Well, let's help!" Kaneda exclaimed, jumping out of the cart.

Al sighed and sweatdropped. "He's so reckless…"

Kaneda ran in, slashing away at the Heartless. The others followed suit, and soon, the evil creatures were destroyed. The silver-haired boy sighed and wiped his brow.

"Hey thanks…"

But just then, even more Heartless appeared!

"Great, just great!" Ed groaned.

"Okay, I've had enough of these guys!" The teen shouted. "Plue!" From behind the boy came a white tailless dog-like creature with a head that looked like something you'd find on a snowman.

"Puun…"

"Okay Plue! RAVELUTION!"

The dog-creature's body began to shake, as it glowed with a blue light… then out shot a burst of blue light that eradicated the Heartless where they stood, leaving the others awestruck.

"Wow…" Yoh muttered.

The silver-haired boy turned to them and grinned, saying, "Well, how was that?"

* * *

Sometime later after introducing themselves, the group was headed back to the city on the cart, while Kaneda and the others explained their story to the two young men, named Haru and Musica. 

"So, that's it huh?" Musica asked, hand on his chin.

"Yep. That's it." Kaneda said. He looked at Plue, who was being petted by Al and Yoh. "Just what is Plue anyway?" he asked.

Haru shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think he may be some kind of dog, but he has great power. So we really don't know."

"Okay, so we need to find the Keyhole." Ed commented, trying not to throw up.

"I may have heard something about it."

Everyone looked at Griff.

"Of course, they're just rumors, but there is a story that said the heart of the world is located in a place of darkness. And if I'm correct, this place is the Tower of Din."

Haru and Musica both paled considerably.

"Great. Just great."

"What's the big deal?" Yoh asked.

"The Tower of Din is where the evil King lives." Haru said. "You've heard of him, haven't you?"

"Yeah, we've met." Kaneda answered.

"Well, if it's there," Musica added, "Then we have to be careful. But first, let's find Ellie."

Suddenly, the cart slid to a halt, sending everyone flying over.

"Ow… that's starting to get annoying." Ed moaned loudly.

Haru got up and shouted at Griff, "Why did you stop?"

"Um…I think I found her."

Everybody else looked up, and saw King clutching the arm of a teenage girl, who whimpered as he tightened his grip.

"Well, well, well. Are you looking for this girl?"

"ELLIE!" Haru jumped out of the cart and shouted. "Let her go!"

"Not just yet. I still need to use her, and that mutt of yours!" King declared.

A yellow reptilian creature grabbed Plue from the back of the cart, and ran beside King.

"PLUE!" Al exclaimed, jumping out. The others followed suit.

King smirked. "Oh yeah?"

He raised one hand, and junk from all around them in alleyways and stuff began rising up and coming together to form a huge spider, with eyes made from things like light bulbs, cracked mirrors, even an old portable TV.

"Farewell fools!" Laughing madly, King, the yellow creature (named Racas), disappeared along with Ellie and Plue, leaving the heroes to face the monstrosity known only as the Junk Spider.

"Oh boy…"

The creature snarled, revealing fangs made from rusted metal shards, and shot sparking wires from its body at them. Everyone jumped out of the way, as it started spitting garbage, forcing the group to take shelter behind a car.

"I never thought I'd be killed by a walking trash heap!" Kaneda shouted over the sound of the junk hitting the car.

"Looks like we have no choice but to fight!" Musica announced, and quickly grabbed his silver necklace, which extended into a long spear. He jumped over the car, and slammed his weapon into the Junk Spider's television eye. It screamed and fell back.

The rest of the group followed his lead. Yoh was first, but the sparking wires grabbed him and flung him across the street.

"YOH!"

"He'll be fine," Haru said, looking at Ed, "But let's finish this guy first!" He raised his sword in the air and shouted, "DEKA FORCE SWORD! EMPOWER!"

His weapon became a bright orange color, with black markings, and it appeared longer then it already was. Haru pointed his sword at the monstrosity and announced, "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" Ed used his spear like a vaulting pole and jumped on top of the Junk Spider, and slammed it into the creature's back. It started to buck violently, forcing him to hold on tight.

"Yee haw! Ride 'em cowboy!"

Without warning, it threw him off, and he hit the top of the car before sliding off.

"Nii-san!" Al shouted.

Kaneda grit his teeth. "It's time to end this!" He announced. "HIYAH!"

He slashed at the monster's legs, made of rusty pipes and old cans. The Keyblade sliced through them easily, and the Junk Spider went down screeching.

"NOW HARU!"

The other boy yelled "EXPLOSION!", and brought his sword down on the beast, effectively cutting it in half before it exploded. When the smoke cleared, garbage littered the streets.

"Wow..."

"I'd hate to be the one that cleans all this up." Kaneda said.

"Come on! We have to go after Ellie and King!" Haru shouted.

"Right."

* * *

After a long trip back through the desert, fighting off Heartless monsters, the group finally reached the Tower of Din, a tall pillar of stone that reached into the very heavens themselves. 

"Well," Haru announced, as he got out of the cart, "This is it. So everyone just stick…"

Suddenly, a huge creature with a glass dome for a head jumped down in front of them. "Who dares trespass into the Tower of Din?" It (he, probably) boomed.

"Uh…"

"The Keyblade master! That's who!" Kaneda shouted. "So get out of the way, glasshead!"

The creature smiled. "Ah, the wielder of the Keyblade. My master warned me about you. I'm afraid I, LTingle, have no choice to destroy all of you!" And with that, he pulled out a large sword from out of nowhere. (3)

"Bring it on!" Haru exclaimed as he and the others got their weapons ready.

The creature slashed at them, forcing them to jump out of the way. They tried to strike at his body, but the blows didn't seem to do anything. With a smirk, LTingle swiped his blade, sending a gust of air that knocked them backwards, against the cart. The group quickly struggled to their feet.

"Dammit! This guy's too strong!" Ed cursed.

"He must have a weak point." Al pointed out.

Haru glanced up at the glass dome covering the creature's head. "That's it!" he exclaimed. "That must be his weak point."

"Okay," Musica said. "Me and Ed can take it, right?"

The other boy smirked. "Yeah!"

Quickly, they ran off to prepare for the attack.

"You cannot hide from me." LTingle boomed. He raised his sword and slashed at then, the blade coming in contact with Haru's side. The boy collapsed on his knees, clutching his side. The creature stood over him, smirking.

"You see? I am invincible!"

"Oh yeah take this! Now guys!"

"Ed and Musica jumped from out of the cart, and swing their spears at LTingle's glass dome head, shattering it.

"How dare you! You will pay for that!"

LTingle swiped at the air again, but Kaneda countered with his newest spell. "Light Wall!"

A thin screen of energy appeared, blocking the attack. Kaneda smirked. "Okay! Now take this! Hiyah!" He jumped up and struck LTingle's head with all his might. The creature toppled over, and lay still. His job done, Kaneda turned to look at the others.

"You guys okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just fine," Haru groaned, slowly getting up.

"Wait. Let me help." Ed told him. Putting his hand on his arm, he whispered, "Cure Touch." A burst of pink light surrounded and Haru's wound, healing it instantly.

"Wow! Thanks!"

"Ahem. If we're done chatting, let's get a move on." Musica interrupted.

"If it's all fine with you, I'd rather stay here." Griff called from under the cart.

"Fair enough."

* * *

The trek up the tower was rather difficult, seeing as the majority of it was a long, winding staircase. The constant Heartless attacks didn't help either. They did manage to find a purple ball named Yaamon, who refused to leave. (They managed to get him to the cart anyway.) 

"Okay, when is this staircase going to end?" Kaneda groaned, after about an hour of walking.

Right on cue, they reached the top floor.

"Finally!" Ed exclaimed, falling to the ground.

"We don't have time to rest!" Haru shouted. "We have to find Ellie and Plue!"

"What's with you? Is Ellie your girlfriend or something?" Ed smirked.

Haru turned bright red. "What? Uh...um…er…"

* * *

Meanwhile, King stood over Ellie's motionless body. Next to him was Racas, still holding Plue, and Myotismon, smirking evilly. And chained against a far wall, was a man with dull silver hair in a ponytail, violet eyes, and a nasty looking scar running across his face. 

"It looks like you found the Princess after all," he said. "I was beginning to think you would never be able to."

"It was easy." King smirked. "Those fools never had a chance. And Haru Glory could never win against my power, right Gale?"

"NO! My son could never loose to the likes of you!"

The man's anguished cries only served to broaden King's smirk "Oh really? Well, since you're here, I'll let you watch as your world is destroyed."

"King, don't do this, I beg of you!"

"Too late! Reveal the Keyhole!"

Plue quivered fiercely as a blue beam shot from his body and struck the wall, revealing a keyhole.

"You know," said Myotismon, "The Keyblade Master may not be as weak as you think. He is very persistent. Maybe would should tell Tetsuo about it? That may help our plans…"

Just then, Kaneda's group ran through the door, panting heavily. The wielder of the Keyblade glanced around, and his gaze fell on the vampire-like Digimon.

"I-Is that Myotismon?"

The Digimon sneered. "It seems we have company. I'll just leave this to you." And with a sweep of his cape, he was gone.

King turned to face the group. "Well, well, look what we have here. Not only is the Rave Master here, but the Wielder of the Keyblade as well. And look who else we have here." He gestured to the man chained up to the wall. "I'm sure you and Haru don't need any introductions."

The aforementioned boy looked up, and gasped. "No… I-it can't be…"

"What is it?" Yoh asked.

"That-that man…is my father!"

"WHAT?"

King chuckled. "Indeed. I feel it's only proper to see him before you die. Racas!"

The creature ran to his side. "Yes Master?"

"Take the mutt and the girl over there while I eliminate these pests."

"As you wish."

As the creature carried out its master's wishes, the evil warrior turned back to the group.

"Let Ellie go!" Haru shouted.

"Not a chance. She is one of the Princesses after all, one of seven who can unlock the door."

"Unlock… the door?" Ed asked confused.

"Heh. But you'll never know what lies behind it!"

And with that, he ran at them, waving his sword. The heroes jumped and dodged, trying to strike a few blows. After a while, they all fell back, breathing heavily. (And though they didn't realize it, the spell Blizzard Wave was now Artic Freeze.)

"Enough of this," the wicked man snarled, pulling out a small purple stone. Haru's father's eyes widened.

"No! Not the Shadow Stone!"

"Shadow Stone?" Al questioned.

"It's a long story, but those things have a great and terrible power!" Musica answered.

"Yes, but this is no ordinary Shadow Stone!" the evil King said with a smirk, "This is one that I have created to the ultimate power! Of course, I'll need some power to activate it!" (4) He waved his hand, and wisps of blue light went from Plue's body and into the stone.

"Now, DIE!" King roared, and with that, equipped the item. There was a flash of dark light, and when it cleared, a monster stood in his place.

It was about six to eight feet tall, with darkly tanned skin, a muscular chest with the Shadow Stone embedded in it, and black fur on its lower torso and legs. It had spiky blond hair, long claws, and red slits for eyes.

Letting out a blood-chilling roar, it unleashed a red energy beam from its mouth, destroying everything in it its path.

"Look out!"

The group ducked as the beam of molten light swept over their heads, and ended up cutting the chains that held Haru's father to the wall. He dropped to the ground, and, rubbing his sore wrists, ran over to where the other heroes were.

"How are we gonna beat this guy?" Kaneda shouted.

"I have an idea."

Everyone glanced over in surprise at Haru's father, Gale Glory, who was handling his own sword.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Well, King gets his power from the Shadow Stone, right?"

"Right…"

"And the Shadow Stone gets power from Plue, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, if we stop the flow of power from Plue to King, then he'll loose power."

"Wait, wait, does that mean hurting Plue?"

Gale held up his hands in order to stop his son's complaint. "No, all I mean is keeping Plue away from King, and thereby cutting the power flow." He pointed out to where Racas was scrambling in an attempt to escape his master's energy blasts.

Kaneda nodded. "Alright. Some of us will be decoys, while the rest of us get Plue. Okay, let's go!"

The group split up, with Al, Yoh, and Musicaa keeping King's attention, and Kaneda, Haru, Ed, and Gale attacking Racas.

Finally, the creature fell to their blades, and dropped Plue. The little creature was shivering, but otherwise unharmed.

Without his power, King roared in pain, rearing back.

Gale looked at the monster sadly. "I'm sorry, old friend," he said, "But I have to put you out of your misery." Taking a deep breath, he slashed the jewel in the beast's chest. It shattered, and the creature fell to the ground, its life spent. Gale closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

"Dad…" Haru whispered.

"Hey, what's this?"

Everyone looked over to where Yoh had pulled out a few pieces of paper. At the top of the first page in neat handwriting were the words: DARTZ'S REPORT 1.

"Huh. That must be the reports on the Heartless we were told about." Ed commented. Suddenly, there was a flash of light as the spell Fireball Barrage was upgraded to Inferno Blast. "What the…?"

"AAAHHH!"

"Oh no! Ellie!"

The group ran to the room she was in, but by then, it was too late.

"Damnit! She's not here!"

At that moment, the Keyblade started glowing. "Hey! I think we're near the Keyhole!" Kaneda shouted.

And sure enough, there it was. But after Kaneda locked it, everything began to shake.

"W-what's happening!"

"Everything's falling apart!" Musicaa shouted. "We have to get out of here!"

"But Ellie-!"

"No time! Let's go!"

* * *

It was a wild scramble down the stairs as they attempted to escape. Finally though, they made it out. The entire group panted as they watched the Tower of Din collapse into rubble. 

"Well," Gale said after a long moment of silence. "That ends that. At least we all got out." (5)

"What do you mean!" Haru shouted. "Ellie's still missing! I have to find her!"

"Um… but that would be considered meddling if we take you with us!" Al said.

"You do know those are stupid rules." Kaneda said, frowning.

Haru just stared at them. Then he said, "Well, if I can't go… take Plue!"

"Huh?"

"He can help fight the bad guys. Just call on his power, and he'll do what he can."

Kaneda nodded. "Okay then."

"I too, want to give you something." Gale said. He pulled out a small object, and handed it to Kaneda. It was a keychain, with a small blue stone at the end. Printed on the surface were two small black wing shapes.

"This is the Combat Rave," he told them, and it may help you on your quest."

"Alright!" Kaneda shouted. He equipped it, and they Keyblade took on another form. This time, the handle was silver with wing-like protrusions on the side. The blade itself was white, and had black markings.

"Please be careful." Gale told them.

"You don't have to worry about us!" Ed grinned, "We can handle ourselves."

* * *

_**  
Somewhere far away…**_

"Hmph. King could have had defeated them, if a certain person had stuck around to help." Cell said coldly.

"Hey, I did my part, that's all!" Tetsuo snapped.

Myotismon merely smirked, saying, "It was inevitable. He was destroyed by his own hatred, which burnt out of control. One should watch their anger."

Cell frowned. "Well, you don't need to worry about me." He said. Turning to Tetsuo, he added, "By the way, we have something for you."

"Huh?"

"Since you helped us, we did you a favor." Myotsimon explained. He waved his hand, and a motionless figure appeared.

"Kei!"

"Go to her. Your transport is waiting."

Then there was the sound of pounding footsteps, signaling Moo's arrival.

"Just remember boy," he snarled, "No funny business."

Tetsuo glanced back at Myotismon. "Wait. What's the catch?"

The Digimon merely shrugged. "There is no catch; I just want you to be happy." He reached towards Tetsuo, but the boy pushed his hand away.

"I don't need your sympathy!" He shouted.

Myotismon frowned. "Very well. Just remember our deal."

**_To be continued…_**

* * *

Okay, I'm in a quandary. For my Chain of Memories parody, I was thinking of doing something original, and putting Tetsuo's adventure after Kaneda's in the same chapter. (If I confused anyone, I'm sorry.)

Um… but do you readers like this? Please tell me!

1 – This is what the continent is called; I'm just giving the name to the place. Or maybe I've been thinking about _Tales of Symphonia_ too much… (Great game, but at times, it gets very complicated.)

2- Okay, okay, so it isn't exactly like this in the original game! Big deal!

3- I don't know how he fights, so I'm making it up.

4- Do you like this idea?

5- Yeah, it always kinda bugged me how they killed Haru's dad off.


	9. Chapter 8: Into the Soul Realm

Chapter 7: Enter the Spirit Realm

After beating the Krillin Cup (1) and getting the spell Gravity Blast, the group was taking a break as they crossed the universe. Kaneda was fast asleep in the captain's chair, while the others were relaxing. Suddenly, the ship began to shake violently, and Kaneda ended up falling out of his seat.

"What the Hell?! Who's messing with the buttons?!"

Yoh raised his hands in protest. "Wasn't me…"

"Look there!" Al shouted, pointing. They all looked up and saw a huge void surrounded by… a beaded necklace?

Amidamaru peered at the strange portal. "I don't like this one bit…"

"Hey! It's pulling us in!" Morty exclaimed.

"Everyone hang on!"

"WOOOOAAAAH!!!"

* * *

_**  
FLASHBACK**_

**_Two young boys laid on their stomachs on a stretch of black top, using pieces of chalk to create fantastic drawings. One boy sighed and looked up._**

"_**Kaneda…"**_

_**His friend stopped what he was doing and looked at him. "Yeah?" **_

"When we grow up… Let's leave this place and go on adventures and stuff, like in the cartoons."

_**The other boy smiled. "Yeah, let's." He paused for a moment, and then spoke again.**_

"_**Did you hear about the new girl…?"**_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

* * *

_**World Name: Soul Realm**_

* * *

"Kaneda… Kaneda… Wake up!" 

"Huh…? What…?"

The teenager opened his eyes to see the other standing over him. He glanced around, and saw that they were in a white void in which various objects floated in midair.

"Where are we?"

"I dunno," Ed commented, "But it looks like this place has everything but the kitchen sink!"

Right on cue, a white porcelain sink floated past them. (2)

"Uh… never mind."

Morty looked around. "Hey, has anyone seen Yoh anywhere?"

"No… I don't think so…"

"Wait a minute!"

They all looked up and saw a familiar boy making his way across the blank landscape, something clutched tightly in his hands.

"Hey wait!"

When the person did not stop, or even look back at them, the group sighed and followed him into the strange new dimension.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

A ragtag bunch of people and spirits huddled around a measly fire in an attempt to keep warm. A teenage girl sighed as she adjusted the red bandanna resting on her dirty blond hair.

"Yoh's been gone for a long time," she muttered. "I wonder what's keeping him."

"Well, you know Yoh," a man in a white suit with a pompadour hairstyle spoke up, "He has a tendency to slack off an awful lot."

"Not to mention his habit of sleeping on the job." added the specter of the lizard-like being that was sitting next to him.

"Now come on," said a boy with spiky pale blue hair and a snowboard attached to his back. "We have to have faith that he'll come back." The tiny sprite sitting on his shoulder nodded slowly.

"I hope he doesn't take too long." sighed the girl sitting beside him.

"Hey relax!" piped up a dark-skinned boy with an afro. "I bet he'll be here any minute." The ethereal jaguar near the boy growled in agreement.

"Hmph. How can you be so naive?" A boy with purple hair in a spike and cold golden eyes snapped. "Do you honestly expect Yoh to come back?"

"He does make some sense." said a large figure in old-fashioned-looking gold and purple armor.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see." A girl said softly, pushing some of her dark green hair out of her eyes.

"Lady Jun has a point." Commented a figure in a Chinese martial arts outfit as he casually leaned against a wall.

"I'm just glad we all made it out of our world in one piece." Sighed a pale man all dressed in white. "Aren't you, my dear Eliza?" The spirit of a young woman in a pink nurses' outfit smiled back at him.

A green-haired boy sighed as he said, "I wonder how long we're gonna last out here…" The fairy beside him patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone looked up as a young ran into the area, shifting the object he was holding under one arm so he could wave to them.

"Yoh! Where on Earth have you been?!" the bandanna-wearing girl demanded.

The boy just shrugged. "Oh you know, around. Anyway, I got something that might help us get out of here!"

"What is it?"

"This!" Yoh held up a big green block, and announced, "It'll help us get out of here!"

"Hey! Wait up!"

They glanced over as Kaneda, Ed, Al and Morty ran in, breathing heavily.

"Man," Kaneda gasped, "I really have to get out more!"

"And who are they?" asked the armor-wearing ghost, stepping forward. Startled, Kaneda and the Elric brothers jumped backwards, looking shocked.

"I see dead people…" (3)

Yoh looked at his other friends, put one head behind his head and said, "Yeah, well, I forgot to mention that I met some new friends on the way over here."

"I guess we should introduce ourselves then," said the bandanna girl. "I'm Anna Kyokama, Yoh's trainer and fiancée."

"Fiancée?" Ed repeated, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Aren't you two a little young for that kind of stuff?"

"It's a long story," Yoh explained.

The man with the pomp stood up, and announced, "I am Rio of the Wooden Sword. This is my associate Tokageroh."

The lizard-man waved. "Hello."

The blue-haired boy was next, gently pulling one of the girls along beside him. "Hi, I'm Trey Racer. This is my partner, Corey," here he pointed to the small figure on his shoulder, "and this is my sister, Pilika. The girl waved and smiled shyly.

Next up was the afro boy, jumping in and grinning widely. "And I'm Joco! I'm the funniest guy around these parts!"

"Oh please, you're as funny as a train wreck." The purple-haired boy muttered, pushing him away. "I am Len Tao, of the Tao clan. Over here is my guardian spirit, Bason, my sister, Jun, and her partner, Pailong." The green-haired girl raised a hand in greeting, and the two spirits bowed.

The pale man in white came forward. "And I am Johannes Faust VIII, and this is my dear Eliza." The woman in the pink nurse outfit smiled.

The small green-haired boy was the last one to step forward. "H-hi there." He said shyly. "My name's Lyserg Diethel, and this is my partner Chloe." The fairy smiled at them cheerfully.

Kaneda nodded. "Okay then. My full name's Shotaro Kaneda, but," he added, "you can just call me Kaneda, or else you'll regret it. The two with me are Edward Elric, and his little brother Alphonse."

"Hi"

"Hello there."

The teenager sat on a crate and put his feet up. "So how long you've been here?"

Pilika spoke up, almost silently. "We're not really sure. Time must pass differently here then in our world."

"So you guys lost your world, huh?" Ed questioned. Anna nodded.

"Yeah. I was able to create this place as a temporary escape, but it won't last for much longer." (4)

Yoh, half-listening to the conversation, looked up as a figure ran past…

"Anyway, if you could get here, then we might be able to get out. Yoh even found this green block thing." Anna continued.

"A green block? You mean a Power Block, right?" Al asked.

"If that's what you call it, then yeah. Yoh, show it to them. Yoh?"

Everyone looked around and saw that he wasn't there. Anna slapped her forehead. "Oh for the love of… He must have wandered off."

"Then we'll have to go find him!" Kaneda exclaimed, standing up. "Morty, you take the others back to the ship, if you can find it."

"Now hold on!" Trey shouted, getting to his feet. "We're coming with you, right Chloe?" The fairy nodded.

"Same goes for me!" Rio added.

"And me!" piped up Joco. Everyone then looked at Len.

"Alright, alright, I'll go to and keep you out of trouble." The boy sighed.

"Wait a minute, Kaneda."

The teenager looked over at Lyserg. "What is it?"

"I found this a while back, and I think you should have it." The boy said, handing him a keychain that looked like Amidamaru's shoulder pads. "It might come in handy." (5)

Kaneda attached it to his Keyblade, and it took on the appearance of Yoh's weapon, complete with red armor at the ends.

"Alright, let's move out!"

* * *

The group made their way through the maze of junk, climbing up ledges and fighting off attacking Heartless. On the way, they found some barrels to climb up on to reach a high ledge.

"Doesn't this all seem a little contrived?" Rio questioned as they were climbing up.

"Oh come on," said Joco. "It's not like all of this is a story written by a teenage fangirl based off some extremely popular video game!" (6) Kaneda, Ed and Al just looked at each other.

"Er…let's just keep going then."

Amidamaru (who was traveling with them) nodded in agreement. "Indeed."

* * *

After a while, they spotted Yoh standing by himself near a pile of junk.

"Hey! Come on Yoh! We have to go back!" shouted Kaneda.

"Yeah!" Al yelled. "The others are really worried sick!"

"Come on, this isn't time to be fooling around!"

"But Kaneda, I thought you liked games. Or are you too busy with your new friends to be playing?"

They all spun around to see…

"Tetsuo!" Kaneda gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Relax; I'm only here for the kid."

"You know what I mean!" the teen snapped. "Did you find Kei yet?"

Tetsuo smirked. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Catch us, and I'll tell you what I know."

And with that, he grabbed Yoh by the hand, and ran off. Kaneda tried to follow them.

"Tetsuo…! Dammit, he got away!" Turning to the others, he muttered, "Let's go."

* * *

_Meanwhile, somewhere else…_

In another area, Myotismon frowned at Tetsuo. "Why were you talking to that boy? He deserted you for the Keyblade and his new friends after all."

"Relax," the teen answered. "I was just messing with him."

"Very well then. But beware the darkness in your heart, for the Heartless prey on it."

"Mind your own beeswax!" Tetsuo snapped

The Digimon smirked at him. "As you wish." Then he stepped through a newly-formed portal and was gone.

* * *

_With Kaneda and the others…_

The heroes were pressing on, having located a torn sheet of paper and a grey seal-like creature named Bukamon. After putting them in a safe place, they continued onward, still fighting any Heartless that got in their way. Suddenly, they stopped, seeing Tetsuo standing by himself.

"Heh. It's about time you got here, Kaneda."

"What's your problem?! Don't you realize what you're doing is wrong?!" Kaneda shouted at him.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"What do you mean by that?!"

"You heard me. These days, all you care about is showing off that Keyblade of yours. Do you want to save Kei?"

"Well duh!"

Tetsuo said nothing, but walked away casually.

"Hey! We're not done here! Hey! Tetsuo!"

"What's that guy's problem?" Trey asked.

"Well, he _was_ my friend," Kaneda explained, "But he's been acting pretty weird lately…"

"I think we should stop talking, and keep moving!" Len interrupted.

* * *

Finally, they reached a large, open area, where they saw Yoh lying on the ground.

"Yoh!"

"Don't worry, we're coming for ya!"

"Wait!" Ed exclaimed, "It might be a…" suddenly, the ground started shaking. "…trap."

Out from under Yoh shot up a bunch of vine-like things that formed a nasty-looking cage, known as the Disease Prison. They all stepped back as it waved its tendrils around wildly. Then out of nowhere, Tetsuo stepped up, holding his own sword.

"Hey pal," Kaneda exclaimed, "You wanna do this?"

Tetsuo smirked at him. "You bet! Let's go!"

They all rushed at it, dodging tendrils, and lashing out at them.

"Vorpal Dance!" shouted Len, striking at any tendril that dared to come near him. (7)

Meanwhile, Trey waved his snowboard, and attacking tendrils froze solid, making it easy to smash them. Rio and Joco simply just attacked whenever they could. Al blocked using his shield, and Ed leapt in and out, jabbing at tendrils and casting magic. And in the center of it all, Kaneda and Tetsuo slashed away wildly, fighting back to back.

Finally, the tendrils disappeared into the 'ground', leaving Yoh's body behind. Tetsuo kneeled by the motionless figure and pulled him up by the collar.

"Hey! Let him go!" Rio exclaimed, raising his sword.

"Sorry, I've got some unfinished business with this kid." Tetsuo answered casually.

"You let him go this instant!" snapped Amidamaru.

Tetsuo didn't answer; he just looked down at Yoh. Then he said, "This is an unusual kid. But maybe he can help someone who's lost their heart."

Kaneda spun around to face him. "Wait, are you talking about Kei?"

"What do _you _care?"

And with that, he lifted the body over his shoulder, and ran off.

"After him!"

* * *

The group continued onwards, fighting more Heartless, finding a few new Power Blocks, and locating a green leaf-tailed creature named Leafmon, who readily agreed to come with them.

"Why are we even bringing those things along?" Len complained. "We're not running a daycare center here!"

"Well," Al explained, "We're kinda doing someone a favor."

"Hmph. Well I think…"

"Hey! Look what I found!"

Everyone looked up as Joco held up a pale blue stone. "What do you think it is?"

Kaneda stared at the object, unable to take his eyes off it. "AquaJewel…"

"Huh? Did you say something?"

The teen broke his gaze to look at Ed. "N-no, it's nothing."

"What's with you? You're kinda down in the dumps." Joco put in. "Get it! 'Cause we're in a junkyard-type place!"

WHAM! Len punched Joco in the nose with his Kwan Do. "Oh please, that wasn't even remotely funny!" (8)

"Ahem! We'd better keep moving!" Kaneda snapped.

"You don't seem very happy." Al noted.

"So?!"

"Well, this Tetsuo guy has you all tied in a knot." Tokageroh pointed out.

"Just come on!"

* * *

They all kept on running and fighting, and found a little blue being called DemiVeemon. Then they saw Tetsuo jumping into a portal.

"There he is! After him!"

One by one, they leapt after him into the portal.

"Okay Tetsuo!" Kaneda shouted, "Let him go, _now_!"

The other boy just glared at him. "A kid who lost his heart to the Heartless… maybe he can help Kei. How about it? Let's work together, and we can save her."

He held out his hand, but Kaneda slapped it away. "I don't think so!"

"What? You'd fight me over a kid who lost his heart?"

"Well, heart or not, he still has a conscience!"

Tetsuo raised an eyebrow. "A conscience? What movies have _you_ been watching?"

"Well, _you _might not hear it," Kaneda said boldly, "But _I _can. And it's telling me that this is wrong!"

"Hpmh. Fine then."

At the same time, Yoh's friends crowded around him, looking nervous.

"Master Yoh!" Amidamaru begged. "Please wake up!"

"Yeah! Don't do this!"

Yoh's brown eyes slowly opened, and he muttered, "I don't know if I'm gonna make it guys…"

"Then why do you sound like you're fine?"

"Oh, yeah!"

Cue the group facefault.

All of a sudden, the Disease Prison dropped out of nowhere, startling the group, and allowing Tetsuo to escape.

"Dammit! Hey got away!" Kaneda hissed.

"Forget that! We have to take this guy down once and for all!" Ed shouted.

Yoh grabbed his sword (that Al had been holding for him), and shouted, "Amidamaru, let's go!"

The spirit nodded. "Right!"

"SPIRIT UNITY!" There was a burst of bright light, and when it cleared, Amidamaru was nowhere in sight, but that's not what's important. What's important is that Yoh now has the strength to take on the Disease Prison.

The boy ran at the being, yelling, "CELESTIAL SLASH!" A wave of red energy appeared out of nowhere, slicing a bunch of tendrils to ribbons.

"Eat this! Blazing Meteors!" A bunch of fireballs flew from the tip of Ed's lance, pummeling the Parasite Cage, and burning it severely.

"Ok, let's see what this new spell can do!" Kaneda shouted. "Gravity Blast!" A burst of dark energy slammed into the creature, and it let out a howl of pain, before suddenly scaling to the ceiling, and then it dropped, falling downwards towards them.

"SCATTER!"

They all jumped out of the way as the Disease Prison landed with a dull _thud_, effectively knocking it out.

"Okay, now attack while it's stunned!"

The group rushed at it, slashing away until it suddenly came to and started attacking again. The process was repeated a few times before it was finally done for. The creature vanished in a cloud of sickly green smoke, leaving behind a small grayish stone, which Kaneda picked up.

"Did… we win?" Yoh asked, panting. Suddenly, the ground started shaking violently.

"What's happening!?"

"The world's shaking itself to pieces!" shouted Bason. "We have to leave now!"

"But Tetsuo…!"

"Forget him, and let's go!"

They all started running, dodging falling objects (that fell faster than usual) and leaping over pits. Just when it seemed like they were doomed, a familiar ship appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey guys!" Morty shouted, leaning out a window.

"Morty! Boy am I glad to see you!" Yoh exclaimed.

Anna leaned out the window and yelled, "Hey come on! This place is falling apart!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Kaneda shouted, climbing up a rope ladder. The others followed suit, and soon they were all in the cockpit, with Faust VIII at the controls.

"Everyone hang on!" He shouted, and they blasted off, avoiding the debris in their path. Finally, the opening was in sight.

"We're not gonna make it!" Lyserg yelled.

"Oh yes we are!" Ed exclaimed. He pulled a lever, and the ship's rear thrusters suddenly burst into life, giving them a boost that sent them through the opening just as everything exploded behind them. They all looked back at the black burn spot-like remains of the void.

"That was a close one!" Bason pointed out.

"No kidding!" Rio sighed.

Pailong blinked, noting Kaneda's sad expression. "Is something the matter?"

They boy looked at him, and sighed. "No…it's just… a guy I thought was my friend… well… I just don't know any more."

"Hey, cheer up pal!" Joco beamed. "Things will get better!"

"Your cheerfulness is a real pain." Len complained.

"Hey I think it's gonna rain!"

"Please cut that out now!"

"Hey man, don't have a cow!"

"Will you stop these stupid rhymes?!"

"Hey I don't do them all the time!"

"No more rhymes now, I mean it!"

"Anybody want a peanut?" (9)

"ARRGH!!!"

Everyone else laughed hysterically as Len chased Joco around the cockpit. Trey blinked, noticing a large red button.

"Hey, what does this button do?"

"NO TREY!"

The ship suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, but not before turning into a bunch of bananas, then a bowl of petunias, and finally a very surprised-looking sperm whale. (10)

* * *

_Meanwhile, somewhere else…again…_

Tetsuo stared longingly at Kei's almost lifeless form. Behind him, Myotismon stepped up, a smirk on his fanged lips.

"So… then Kei's like a doll now?" The boy questioned.

"Exactly."

"Then her heart was…"

"Taken by the Heartless, it seems."

Tetuso whirled around to face him. "Tell me! What can I do to help her?!" he pleaded. Myotismon's smirk just grew wider.

"There are seven pure-hearted maidens, known as the Princesses of Heart. If they are gathered together, then a door to the heart of all worlds will open, revealing untold wisdom. There you will surely find a way to recover her heart. But to do so, you must be able to control the Heartless."

He raised a gloved hand, and a dark aura surrounded Tetsuo. The teen smiled evilly as he looked back at Kei.

"Soon Kei…soon."

_To be continued..._

* * *

1-Do'h! I totally forgot about that!

2- I just couldn't resist!

3- Couldn't resist that one either.

4- Don't bug me about this, I couldn't think of anything else.

5- Okay, I know it's a little early for him to be getting this, but I'm giving it to him now just for the heck of it, so no comments please.

6-Don't you just love it when the Fourth Wall is broken? (Or at least somewhat strained?)

7- I don't know many of their abilities, so please bear with me.

8- That joke _was _really lame; I just couldn't think of anything else.

9- That last part was taken from _The Princess Bride_, and it's one of my favorite lines in the movie, for obvious reasons.

10- This is another reference to _A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_.


	10. Chapter 9: Perils on Popstar

NOTE: Okay, now I **_know _**something like this chapter has already been done, so_ **please **_don't point that out. I will try to make my version very different from the one already made.

* * *

Chapter 9: Perils on Pop Star (1) 

After several mishaps, the group finally made it to Anime City, where they were greeted by Gene and Jim.

"Hey, see you made it back." The red-haired man smiled.

"Yeah, well, we almost didn't make it." Kaneda replied, casually putting one hand behind his head and grinning goofily.

"And who are these guys?" Jim put in, pointing at the others with them.

"Well, this is…"

Suddenly, Len pushed his way past Kaneda, muttering, "We're survivors of a cataclysmic annihilation of our home world and we're very tired, so if you could please…"

Gene raised a hand to silence him. "Okay, okay. Come on, I think we have an empty house somewhere."

* * *

Sometime later, they were all at the new house, a nice two-story deal. 

"So all this is ours?" Lyserg asked, looking out a window in amazement.

"Yep." Gene answered. "It's got six bedrooms, two bathrooms, and all that other stuff."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to take a long hot bath." Said Jun, as she casually threw a towel over her shoulder and walking off towards the direction of the bathroom.

"She's settled in quickly." commented Amidamaru.

"That's for sure." Trey agreed, nodding his head.

"Well, it looks like you've all set," Ed commented, so we'll just…"

"AAAH! GET OUT YOU PERV!"

**_SMACK! _**

A door slammed, and Rio entered the room, a big red handprint mark on his face.

"You opened the wrong door, didn't you?" Tokageroh questioned him.

"Yes…" (2)

"I think we'd better make an 'Occupied' sign." Yoh commented, a sweatdrop running down his face.

* * *

Sometime later, Kaneda, Ed and Al were making their way towards a particular house. 

"Why are we going there again?" Ed asked Kaneda.

"I told you, we have to get this thing checked out." The other boy answered in annoyance.

At the house, they pushed open a door to find Sakura busy dusting a table. She looked up at the sound of the door opening and smiled at the trio.

"Well, hello again. What can I do for you?"

"We sound this, and thought you'd want to take a look at it." Kaneda explained, pulling the blue stone out of his pocket.

Sakura took it from him and examined it carefully. "Yes, this is a Summon alright. Let's see who's in it." She placed it on the floor, pulled out her key and announced, "The key that hides the forces of darkness! Show your true identity!" The key extended into a staff again, and she brought it down on the stone. "RELEASE!"

There was a flash of light… and in the stone's place was a light blue turtle-like creature.

Its vermillion eyes blinked rapidly as it awakened. "Squirtle…? Squirtle squirt squirt!"

"Aw! Cute!" Sakura exclaimed, bending down to reach the creature's eye level.

"Yeah, but does it speak English?" Ed questioned.

"I think I can handle this." Kero said. He flew down to the turtle, saying softly, "Hello there. How are ya doing?"

What followed was an amusing conversation between the two, though only Kero could understand what the creature was saying. (3)

"…Yeah….uh huh…uh huh… I see."

Finally, he looked up at the others. "This guy says its name's Squirtle, and it's called a Pokemon."

"Oh yeah? What can he do?" Ed asked.

"Squirtle squirt!" The creature announced, and dug into its shell before producing a pair of pointed sunglasses (4), and put them on. It took a deep breath, and blew out, producing a jet of water that sprayed Ed in the face. "Squirt squirt!" it exclaimed happily.

"Okay, okay, he can come along." Ed groaned, wiping his face.

"Squirtle!" the creature exclaimed happily, before it vanished back into the stone.

Sakura picked it up and gave it to Kaneda, saying, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! We also found this other stone!" Kaneda gave it to her, and she examined it closely.

"Looks like another spell stone, this one for the ability **_Time Stop_**. That allows you to halt time temporarily."

Just then, Li arrived, carrying a large magical tome, which he dropped on the table. "Hey, what do you have there?"

"Look, it's another spell stone!" Sakura gushed. "And you know what that means!"

"Uh…no we don't." said Al.

"Well," Li explained, "You've learned all the basic spells. We have a keychain we give to people to prove they've leaned the basics."

"Neat! What is it?"

"Wait there." Li started rummaging around though a trunk until he found what he was looking for. "Here we go." He said, holding up the keychain, which was a pink ring with a star in the middle. He then removed the previous keychain- the Soul Sword (5) – and attached the new one. Instantly, the Keyblade turned bright pink with a pair of white wings on the handle.

"There. What do you think?"

There was silence. And then…

"ARE YOU FREAKING CRAZY! I CAN'T USE THIS!"

"Why not?"

"IT'S _PINK_ FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

"What's wrong with pink?"

"IT'S GIRLY! THAT'S WHAT IT IS!"

"The Sorceress' Star keychain is _supposed_ to be pink, Kaneda!"

The others sighed and sweatdropped as they watch the two boys argue.

"This may take a while." Kero said with a sigh.

* * *

About a half hour later, the trio left the old house, with Kaneda grumbling loudly. "I can't believe I have to use a pink Keyblade!" he complained. 

"Aw come on. It doesn't look that bad." Al said. "Don't you wanna try it out for a while?"

Kaneda groaned. "Oh fine, but the next chance I get, I'm changing the keychain."

"I hate to interrupt," Ed interjected, "But we should really get going."

"Ah, right. Let's go then!"

Later… the ship slowly made its way towards another world, one shaped like a huge star.

"So, we got a Heartless reading?" Kaneda asked.

"Yeah," Al replied, "And to get to this new world, we have to go though another World Barrier."

"Hopefully, I won't be as bad as having to use a pink Keyblade."

Ed blinked. "…You're still not over that?"

* * *

**_World Name: Pop Star

* * *

_**  
On the world's surface, three rather small figures ran across a big field. One was obviously female and had yellowish skin & hair in a ponytail and wore a pink and green dress. Another one also had yellowish skin and wore overalls with one strap down. But the third one was a pink ball with short arms, red feet, and a cute face. 

"Hey, hurry up! We haven't got all day!" The girl scolded the other two.

"We're coming, we're coming."

"Poyo poi!" the pink creature exclaimed. Suddenly, a huge flash of light filled their vision.

"What was that?" the boy asked.

"I dunno. We'd better go check it out!" the girl replied.

The trio hurried up a hillside, and then stopped as they saw three figures standing there. They resembled Cappies, the local species, but one had a mop of dark hair and wore a white shirt underneath an orange jacket. Another had blond hair in a long braid, and wore a red jacket with a strange black symbol on the back along with a black shirt that had white trimming. And the third… well… looked more like a Cappy-shaped suit of armor than anything else.

"Who are those guys?" the boy asked.

"I dunno. But they don't look like the monsters that have been running around lately…let's go so what they want."

Meanwhile, Ed, Al, and Kaneda were busy examining themselves and their surroundings.

"Man, this is weird!" Kaneda said, looking himself over.

"You're tellin' me!" Ed commented. He then glanced over at his brother. "Huh? How did the World Barrier affect you?"

Al merely shrugged. "I guess it must depend on the world itself."

Kaneda raised both 'hands' and said, "Okay, okay, let's just start looking for…WOAH!" He took one step forward… and fell flat on his face.

"Ow…this is gonna take some getting used to."

"Hey there!"

The trio looked up and saw three beings making their way towards them.

"I've never seen you three around here. Where are you from?"

Ed shuffled nervously. "Uh… far away…"

"…Really far away." Al added nervously.

Kaneda pushed himself up of the ground and turned to his friends. "I think we should introduce ourselves, guys."

The other two nodded. "Oh, right."

Ed was first, saying "Hi, my name's Ed, and this is my little brother Al."

Al waved. "Hello."

"And I'm Kaneda," the last one put in.

"Kaneda? What kind of weird name is that?" The boy in the overalls asked.

"Tuff be nice!" the girl snapped at him. She turned back to the trio. "Sorry about that. My name's Tiff and this is my brother Tuff." The boy waved. "And this…" she said, pointing to the pink puffball, "Is Kirby!"

"Poyo poyo!" the creature beamed.

"Is that all he can say?" Ed asked her.

Tiff shrugged. "We're not sure, really. Come on! We'll show you around!" she started to run off, but saw that Kaneda, Ed and Al were still standing there.

"What's the matter?"

Kaneda scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Uh…er… where we're from… we walk kinda differently." He then laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck. _Great…that sounded really smart!_

The girl put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. "Is that so? We'll I guess we'd better show you how we move around here. We'll start by having you trying to catch Tuff. Ready? Go!"

What followed was a rather funny scene as the trio practically fell all over themselves trying to catch the boy. Finally though, they accomplished their task.

"Good. Now on to our next lesson…"

"Tiff, look out!"

They spun around and saw a group of brown and black hornet-like Heartless flying towards them, enormous stingers aimed and ready.

"Don't worry; we'll handle 'em." Kaneda grinned. He whipped out his Keyblade (and grimaced, remembering its color) before rushing into battle alongside Ed and Al. The wasp creatures (whom we'll refer to as 'Dark Hornets') shot out the needles on their abdomens at the trio. Al raised his shield and the stingers bounced harmlessly off.

"Okay, go!"

Kaneda and Ed raced forward, with Kaneda swinging his weapon and slicing a dark hornet in half.

"Artic Freeze!" Ed yelled, and several Dark Hornets were surrounded by ice before falling to the ground and shattering into many tiny pieces.

"There's too many of them!" Tiff shouted. Suddenly, Kirby jumped forward, mouth open wide as he began sucking them the remaining Dark Hornets up like a vacuum, and then spat them out and sent them flying over the tree line. Kaneda, Ed and Al just stared, mouths agape.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention he could do that." Tiff said.

"Kirby! Tiff! Tuff!" They turned around to see two small creatures flying towards them. Both creatures were orb shaped with small arms and legs, and eyes on the top of their bodies. But one was light blue, and the other was pink with a yellow bow on its head.

Tiff seemed to recognize them, for she waved and yelled, "Hey guys!" The two beings floated over to them, and she made a gesture, saying, "Kaneda, Ed, Al, I'd like you to meet Fololo and Folola. Guys, this is Kaneda, Ed, and Al."

"H-hi." The blue one panted.

"What's the matter?"

"Dark creatures are all over town!"

"What!" Tiff and Tuff looked worried.

"We gotta go to the town!" Tiff exclaimed. Looking at Kaneda, Ed and Al, she added "You'd better come with us, this could get dangerous!"

* * *

When the group arrived in Cappy Town (the local village), they found it totally empty, save for a purple horned ball named Hopmon, which they sent back to the ship using a teleporter. 

"Where is everyone?" Al asked.

"I dunno, but be on your guard just in case anything happens." Kaneda warned.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a Shadow Wolf leapt at them, snarling loudly… Kaneda held up his Keyblade… but before he could strike, something sliced the Shadow Wolf to ribbons. Standing in front of them was a small creature wearing armor with a cape attached to the shoulders. Behind the armor, two golden yellow eyes glinted brightly.

"Are you alright?" it asked in a slightly accented voice.

Tiff nodded. "Y-yeah, thanks Meta Knight."

"You shouldn't be out here. It's too dangerous." The figure warned. He then looked at the other three standing next to her. "And who are they?"

"Huh? Oh! I forgot. Meta Knight, this is Kaneda, Ed, and Al. They're from far away."

Meta Knight's eyes narrowed. "I see. And what are they doing here?"

Ed stepped up. "We're here to find the Key-OW!" he rubbed the spot where Kaneda elbowed him and glared.

Meta Knight sized them up before he said, "Humph. You three may stay, but all of you should keep inside at all costs."

"But, Meta Knight--!"

"That's enough. I don't want to see you getting into trouble." With that, he turned and walked away.

Kaneda angrily started yelling at him. "Hey! Come back here! We're not done yet!"

"Forget it." Tuff sighed. "There's just no talking to that guy." He turned to his sister. "Do ya think we should take them to see Kabu?"

The girl shrugged. "Why not? He might know what's going on." Turning to the others, she said, "Come on! We got something to show ya!"

And with that, she ran off, the others trailing after her.

* * *

Somewhere else, Meta Knight walked down the empty streets, muttering to himself. 

"These creatures appear to be coming from the castle. What in the world could King Dedede be up to…?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the group was making their way into a forest, fighting off any Heartless that came their way. 

"Okay, why are we doing this again?" Ed grumbled.

"We told you!" Folala said, swooping down beside him. "We're going to see Kabu!"

"He's a powerful Tiki that knows everything!" Fololo added.

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby beamed.

"Hey, we're almost there!" Tiff said, pointing. "Come on!"

They reached a clearing where a huge tiki-like thing stood silently. Sleeping next to it was a green blob with a leafy tail.

"Woah…"

"This is Kabu." Tiff explained. "He's been here for as long as we can remember."

"Yeah, and he can see the future!" Tuff added.

"The future huh?" Ed muttered skeptically. "Okay, how about a prediction then?"

There was silence for a moment, before the great tiki spoke out. Startled, the green ball ran off and jumped into Ed's arms. "I see a great darkness that threatens to engulf everything. Find the Crystal Star, and it will lead you to the heart of the world."

"Is that it?" Kaneda asked when it as over.

"Sure looks that way." Fololo answered.

Tiff said nothing, just took a few steps, then turned to faced them, saying, "You know what? Someday, I want to be able to go wherever I want. And I really wanna see new worlds. Do you think that's weird?"

Kaneda shook his head. "Not at all. I used to feel the same way."

Tuff raised an unseen eyebrow. "_Used _to?" he asked.

"Uh, I mean I still do." Kaneda silently grimaced. _Gotta remember to watch what I say!_

Ed rolled his eyes, and his gaze fell on something. Turning, he spotted a star-shaped carving in a particularly thick tree. "Hey, what's this?" he asked.

Everyone turned to look. "I dunno. I've never seen that there before." Tiff said.

"Huh. That's weird…"

* * *

Somewhere else, in a large castle, King Dedede paced back and forth impatiently. "Where is dat darned snail with dat report?" (6) 

Right on cue, a large grayish-purple snail came slithering in. "I'm here, sire."

The king frowned. "Well it's about time. Whaddya have to report?"

His servant shuffled uncomfortably. "Well, uh, the Keyblade bearer has been spotted in the area, sire."

"WHAT! That meddling brat'll ruin everything!" Dedede looked angry for a moment, before relaxing. "No matter. Da Heartless 'll take care of 'im! HAHAHA!"

* * *

Back in the forest, the group was wandering among the trees and talking amongst themselves, having already sent the green ball, Leafmon, to the ship. 

"So, how'd ya learn to fight those monsters?" Tuff asked Kaneda, Ed and Al, as he, jumped over a fallen log.

"Uh, well, we've been doing it for a while now..." Kaneda began, but Kirby suddenly started waving his tiny arms around and shouting in his odd language.

"Poyo poi poi!"

"Huh? What is it Kirby?" Tiff questioned him curiously. The little puffball pointed out to an enormous tree sitting on a big rock, which had at one point split apart. Its roots curved around the where the rocks formed an opening.

"Cool! Let's check it out!" Tuff shouted, running towards it.

The others ran after him into the 'cave'. Small pinpoints of light peeped through the cracks, adding a scant amount of light to the dark area.

"Wow. It's kinda creepy in here." Al whispered.

As their eyes got used to the dimness, they saw that there was a sort of small chamber up ahead, housing a small pillar with a peacock blue crystalline star on top. And crouching behind the pillar, almost hidden in the shadows, was a yellowish-white ball with fin-like things on its head, but they didn't see it, for their attention was focused on the star.

"Wow!"

"It's so pretty!"

"Wonder what it's for…?"

Kaneda stepped forward, ready to take the object when…

"Look out!"

"Huh?"

He glanced upwards, and saw a figure falling towards him, and he managed to jump away before the creature landed. They saw that it was an enormous spider, jet black in color with splotches of red on its back and abdomen. Eight crimson eyes glittered in the semi-darkness as its pincers clicked menacingly. The yellowish ball gave a terrified squeak and rushed out from behind the pillar towards them. Tiff picked it up and held it close to her.

"Stay back, we'll handle this!" Kaneda warned, pulling out his weapon. Ed and Al did the same, and they rushed into battle. The spider reared back and spat out a glob of acid at them.

"Incoming!"

They jumped out of the way as the acid struck the ground, burning a hole in it.

"Hey! Didn't your mom ever tell you not to spit?"

Ed shouted. The spider merely clicked its pincers and spat out more acid, forcing Tiff, Tuff, Fololo and Falala to duck for cover. Kirby, on the other hand jumped forward, intent on fighting.

"Kirby!"

The little puffball just kept running at the spider, which had resorted to shooting needles from its abdomen. Kirby took a deep breath and sucked up an incoming needle. There was a flash of light, and when it cleared, Kirby now had spikes growing out of his body.

"Wow! Needle Kirby!" Tuff grinned

Undaunted, the spider leaned forward and spat out more acid, which they barely avoided.

"Okay, that's it!" Kaneda growled. He leapt forward and struck the creature across the face with his Keyblade. It reared back, screeching in pain.

"ELECTRO BOLT!" Ed blasted it with electricity, and it staggered backwards. Then Kirby took a deep break and launched his spikes at the spider, piercing its body. The spider let out a final screech before it collapsed, legs curling upward in rigor mortis.

"I think its dead." Kaneda panted. He then turned his attention on the crystalline star. "Hm… something about this is familiar."

"Wait, wasn't there a star-shaped thing in a tree near Kabu?" Falala asked.

"Hey you're right! Come on, let's go!"

* * *

Later, after sending the creature, named Upamon, to the ship, the group stood around the star carving in the tree. "Well, here goes nothing…" Kaneda said, as he started to place the star in… 

"What do you think you're doing?"

Everyone jumped as a voice boomed out of nowhere, and then Meta Knight suddenly appeared and destroyed the Crystal Star with a single slash.

"Meta Knight… why!" Tiff burst into tears and ran out of the area.

"Hey! What the heck was that for?" Ed demanded.

Meta Knight's eyes narrowed, and his voice was calm, yet firm. "You three are not from this place, or even this world." Pointing at Kaneda, he said, "You are the Keybearer, are you not?"

The boy's jaw dropped. "H-how'd you know?"

"It was easy, judging by the way you walk like you hardly know how to. As the Keyblade Master, you should know better that to meddle in the affairs if other worlds." He told them sternly.

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing! You have violated this principle! The one with the Keyblade only brings despair and ruin."

"Kaneda's not like that!" Al protested.

"Humph. I'm wasting my time here." He turned and left, leaving the remainder of the group in quiet shock. (8)

* * *

Somewhere else, Tiff sat on a log, crying her eyes out. 

"What's the matter, dearie?"

Startled, the girl looked up, and frowned when she saw Escargoon.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"I overheard your problem," the snail said, "And I think I know someone who can help…" at that moment, King Dedede appeared, a deceptive smile on his face.

"As it so happens, my dear, I know you want ta see other worlds. And ah'm just da penguin to help ya."

"And why should I trust you?" Tiff demanded.

The king frowned and put on a face of mock pain

"Why ah'm hurt! And I jus wanted to help! After all, those new friends of yahs are from otha worlds themselves!

That got her attention. "What?"

King Dedede grinned. "Now ah see yer interested. Your friends couldn't have got here witout use of dat special key. Listen, and ah'll tell ya what ya need to do…"

* * *

"Who does that guy think he is?" Kaneda complained for third time that day. 

"I still can't believe you guys are from another world!" Tuff exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, that's getting old." Ed muttered.

Kirby, now back to his plain old form, waved his arms in the air and loudly chirped, "Poi poi poyo!"

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion that rocked the whole area, sending them to the ground.

"What was that!"

"I think it came over there!" Al said, pointing.

When they reached Cappy Town, it was still empty as when they had last left it.

"Anybody else but me find this unnerving?" Ed asked.

Just then, they heard evil laughter echoing through the area.

Tuff froze. "That voice! I'd know it anywhere!"

The figure of King Dedede loomed out of nowhere, holding a scepter-like object in one hand and laughing evilly. Nearby, Tiff stood in shock.

"Y-you tricked me!" she exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, ah did, didn't ah? Well too bad!"

Kaneda and the others ran up, looking startled. "Tiff! What's going on?"

The girl in question looked down. "He…he wanted me to get the Star Rod (9) for him and I... I…"

"Wait, what?"

"The Star Rod is a powerful magical object," Fololo explained, "And it gives the user great magical power."

"If it fell in the wrong hands," Falala added, "The results could be catastrophic!"

"Gee, ya think?" Ed muttered.

The wicked king grinned down at them. "Well, well, look what we got here. Da so-called Keyblade Master an' his little pals. How pathetic."

"What was that?" Kaneda growled, bearing his weapon

"Wait! He's much too powerful!" Tiff pleaded.

"Darned right!" Dedede smirked. He raised the Star Rod high in the air when a familiar figure appeared.

"Stop this now!" Meta Knight ordered, leaping toward him with his sword out.

"Pah!" The king scoffed do yah really think yah can stop me?" From the wand's tip came an energy blast that sent Meta Knight sprawling into a wall.

"Meta Knight!"

"Humph. An' don't get inn mah way next time!" He turned to look at Tiff. "As for you, my dear, we had an agreement. Time to take yo to anoter world-the world of darkness!"

Just then, Escargoon slithered up, looking uncomfortable and ringing his hands together. "Uh…Sire… we have a problem. The Keyhole isn't here!"

"WHAT!" The penguins faced turned livid, as he grabbed Escargoon and shook him. "WHAT DO YA MEAN IT'S NOT HERE?" He frowned, dropping the snail and muttering, "Okay then, no matter, I got the Star Rod, so let's get outta here!"

They hopped into an expensive-looking car, and drove off in a cloud of dust, but not before the king shouted, "Ah'll be back for you brats later. Yah can count on it!"

When they were gone, Tuff ran to Meta Knight's side, shouting "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little, shaken." Came the answer. Meta Knight tried to stand up, but stumbled.

"Take it easy," Ed warned, "You're still hurt."

"Please… head to the castle… stop King Dedede!"

Kaneda nodded. "Don't worry, we'll get him."

They started to run off, but Tiff stopped them. "Wait, I'm coming with you!"

"Huh?"

"It's my fault all this happened, I gotta help stop him!"

"Count me in!" Tuff shouted. Kirby waved his arms in agreement.

Kaneda sighed. "Okay, okay." Turning to Fololo and Falala, he said, "Do you think you two could make sure everyone stays safe?"

"Sure!" And with that, they flew off.

"Okay, let's get that Star Rod back!"

"Remember, King Dedede has a powerful machine that can only be destroyed with magic!" Meta Knight called after them as they ran out of the village.

* * *

The castle rose high into the sky, a stone structure that loomed overhead. And guarding the way in were two reddish balls carrying spears. 

"Great. _Now_ how are we gonna get in?" Kaneda muttered.

"I got an idea." Ed whispered. Picking up a rock, he threw it against a wall. Hearing a noise the guards ran off to see what it was.

"Okay… now!"

They all ran inside, making sure not to be seen by any one else. "Okay, which way?"

Tiff pointed. "There!"

The group ran up steps and though long hallways until they reached the throne room. There, King Dedede was walking around and waving the Star Rod, while Escargoon watched.

Kaneda, Ed and Al stepped out, as Ed shouted, "Okay, King Dedede, your time is up!"

"Wha? How did you get in here! Aw, nevermind that. GUARDS!" The reddish creatures appeared and attacked them, but were easily taken down.

"Grr… If ya want something right, ya gotta do it yourself!" He pressed a button and a shield surrounded him, then held out the Star Rod and started attacking with magic blasts.

The group ducked and dodged before Al noticed the machine had a huge color-changing gem on it. One minute, it was a firey red, the next, a calm blue, and then a sunny yellow.

_I wonder…_He turned to the others and shouted, "Hey Kaneda! I think if you use the correct magic on that machine right there, it'll do damage to it!"

"Really? Okay, let's see what happens if I use this… Inferno Blast!" Fireballs pelted the gem, and the machine started to shake violently.

"Hey! Careful with that!" The king yelled, throwing another energy blast.

"Personally, I'm more worried about our repairs bill!" Escargoon yelled from behind a pillar.

And so the battle raged on, with the group dodging blasts while attacking the machine with the right spell. (10) Finally, the machine blew up, and the shield went down.

"Uh oh! Retreat!" The king and his servant disappeared into a hidden passage behind the throne, leaving the group behind.

"Hey! Come back here and fight like a penguin!" Ed shouted, beating on the wall.

"Let's go, we need to get the Star Rod back!" Tuff yelled, waving to them as he headed out the door. The others followed suit.

* * *

As they left the castle, the first thing they noticed was that a strong wind had started to kick up. 

"What's with this weather?" Kaneda yelled, "It's like a hurricane!"

Suddenly, Kirby was nearly blown away, but Al grabbed him in time.

"There's gotta be a way past this wind!" Ed yelled.

"Hey, I got an idea." Tiff said. "Al, give me your shield!"

"Uh okay…"

After taking the object, she told Kirby, "Now suck this up!" The little puffball obliged, and soon he had a large metal shield.

"Shield Kirby, huh?" (11)

"Come on, let's get going!"

"What, with that thing? No offense Tiff, but I don't think it'll work."

Suddenly, the shield grew larger until it practically dwarfed them.

"On the other hand…"

* * *

After a while, the winds stopped, and Kirby returned to his normal state, but not before handing Al the shield. 

"Okay, so where did they go…?"

"Without warning, the ground began to shake as a huge robot shaped like King Dedede wielding a huge hammer lumbered into view. (12) And guess who was piloting it?

"How d'yall like my MechaDedede?" The King gloated. "Now ah'll squash you in style!" To finish his point, the robot brought its foot down own them, but they rolled away at the last second.

"How the heck are we gonna defeat that thing!" Ed shouted.

"We don't know until we try!" Kaneda yelled back. "There's gotta be a weak point!"

By this time, the robot brought its hammer down, and although it didn't squash anything, it also created a shockwave that knocked them off their feet.

"Hahahah! You can't stop my all-powerful mech!" The king boasted.

Meanwhile, Tiff watched as the group struggled to fight the robot, with no success. _I don't get it! The robot's gotta have **some **weakness. _That's when she spotted the protruding joints on the robot's ankles. _That's it! _"Guys! Go for the ankles!"

"Heh. The old Achilles' heel, right?" Kaneda smirked. "Typical. Okay, let's get him!"

"Oh no you don't!" The front of the hammer opened to reveal a bunch of missiles that shot off at them.

"Look out!"

Kaneda froze before he remembered something. Raising both hands, he yelled, "Time Stop!" then shut his eyes and looked away… seconds passed… Kaneda opened both eyes and was stunned to see the missiles hanging in the air, barely moving. "Woah…"

"Hey Kaneda! Those missiles aren't gonna stay there forever you know!" Ed shouting broke him out of his stupor. "Huh…? Oh right!"

Fortunately, Kirby saved him the trouble of figuring out what to do with them. He sucked them all up, and spat them back out at the robot. Dedede slammed the controls and yelled, "Hey! You knock that off!"

"Now! While he's distracted! Go for the heels!" Tiff exclaimed.

"Gotcha!"

He ran forward, and with a well-executed slash, struck both heels in a single blow. The blade cut through the metal like a hot knife through butter, and the robot suddenly staged backwards.

"Everybody out of the way!"

They moved backwards as the huge mech fell over with a loud crash. When the dust cleared, King Dedede was lying unconscious in the rubble, Star Rod still clenched in one hand.

"I'll take that!" Ed grinned, snatching up the object.

* * *

Back at Cappy Town, the heroes were greeted by a large crowd, including the recovered Meta Knight. "So, you defeated him did you not?" 

"Thank Tiff," said Tuff, pointing to his sister. "If she hadn't seen the weak spot on Dedede's mech, we woulda been done for!"

The girl in question looked down. "Meta Knight… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let King Dedede trick me like that."

Meta Knight said nothing, and then spoke up. "I suppose it's partially my fault too.

Tiff blinked. "Huh?"

"I was afraid you'd do something rash, so I destroyed the crystal star, which can reveal the Keyhole." Looking at Kaneda, he asked, "Can you seal it up?"

"Of course. That was out plan from the start." Kaneda grinned. "Where is it?"

"The Keyhole is located near Kabu, but you'll need to use the Star Rod."

* * *

Pretty soon, they reached the hidden grove where Kabu rested. Tiff pointed the Star Rod at the star marking, and a Keyhole appeared, and Kaneda locked it. 

"Hey Kaneda…"

The boy turned to look at her. "Yeah? What is it?"

"Your world… what's it like?"

"Oh yeah… sorry about having to lie to you."

"Nah, it's okay. Maybe I can travel to other worlds too. I'll find a way…somehow."

Ed shrugged. "Well I guess well be going."

"Hold on, I need to give you something." Tiff pulled out a keychain with a star on the end. "I've had it for a while, but you can have it. I also have these weird notes." She gave them a folder with DARTZ'S REPORT #3 stenciled on it. "I hope you come back again some day!"

"We will, don't worry." Al said.

And with that, they headed back to the ship, waving to their friends.

Meanwhile, King Dedede slowly got up, holding his forehead.

"Ow mah head…what happened?"

"I think we got beaten." Escargoon moaned, sitting up.

"Wha? The Star Rod's gone!" Dedede shouted.

"I knew we shouldn't have tried that idea." Escargoon muttered. "Moron…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!"

"Uh…uh…nothing Sire!"

"Don't lie to me! You come back here!"

But Escargoon ran as fast as his slimy feet could take him, hoping to get far from the angry king as he possibly could.

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

And Chapter 9 is finally done! And I apologize if this is too similar to what someone else did. Please tell me if I need to make any changes. 

1- This is what I'm referring to the world as.

2-Sorry, I couldn't resist!

3-Well, since he's kinda beastlike, I figure he can understand other creature's languages or something.

4-Yes, that's Ash's old Squirtle alright.

5- What the previous keychain is called.

6- Come on! Did you actually think I'd write a Kirby anime-based chapter without him?

7- I hope I'm getting his accent right.

8- Gee, hope I didn't make him _too _tough…

9- Since the Star Rod is the only magical item from the Kirby games that I'm aware of, I'm putting it in here, even though I don't know if it was in the cartoon or not.

10- You know, Red - Fire, Blue – Ice – Yellow – Thunder, ect.

11- This is an original Kirby form, by the way.

12- Since everyone else is using giant villains by this point, I figure I'll try something different.


	11. Chapter 10: Enter the Speed Demon!

NOTE: This next chapter is going to be based off Sonic X.

Please keep in mind that there will be **_NO_** Chris-bashing! I just honestly don't think he deserves it, that's all.

Hey, I won't knock your opinions if you don't knock mine. So if you don't like it, then read something else. Otherwise, read on.

**_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Chapter 9: Enter the Speed Demon

All was quiet in the ship, as they journeyed to the next world. Kaneda was lying back in the captain's chair, eyes shut tightly. On his lap rested the Shooting Star Keyblade, which was dark blue with starts decorating it and a star-shape on the tip above the points.

Ed finished pressing a few buttons and looked over his shoulder, saying, "Okay, we're almost there, Kaneda… Kaneda?"

But Kaneda was fast asleep, lost in his dream, one which brought up old memories….

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Near the outskirts of the city of Neo-Tokyo, sat the Tonimoki Orphanage, which was a rather squat-looking building that had been just recently painted a bright pink so that it would look more pleasant and less dull. And standing by the double doors was a small girl about eight or nine years old holding a battered suitcase. Presently, she was met by a matronly-looking lady in a white uniform.

"_You must be Kei…I'm Ms. Mizuki, the head matron here. Come on dearie; let's get you introduced to the other children."_

_She led the girl inside building and down sun-splashed hallways into a large room where many children were playing. _

"_Everyone," she announced. "This is Kei Nagoshi. She's new here and I all want you to make her feel welcome." _

The children looked up for a moment, and returned to what they were doing before without a word. In the back of the room, a boy glanced up, and nudged the kid next to him.

"_Hey Shotaro, I think you oughta talk to her."_

_His friend gave him an angry glare. "I **told** you not to call me that."_

_Another boy beside him grinned. "Come on, what have you got to loose?"_

"_Okay, okay." The child pushed himself up and slowly walked over to the girl, who was staring at the carpeted floor.  
_

"_Uh… hi."_

_The girl looked up at him and smiled. _

"_Hi. I'm Kei. What's your name?" _

"My name? It's…"

"Kaneda!"

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

"GAH!" The teen was so surprised; he nearly fell out of his seat. "What is it?"

"We're here."

"Oh." As the others turned to look at the monitors, Kaneda sat back in his chair, rubbing his head. "Man…what was that about…? It felt so familiar…"  
**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
World Name: Station Square  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Kaneda, Ed and Al made their way down the city streets, ignoring the fact that they were getting stared at.

"Okay, so where do we start looking?" Kaneda asked. All of a sudden, the others stopped short, and Kaneda ended up walking into them.

"Omph! Hey!"

"Sssh! Look!"

He glanced at where Ed was pointing and gasped. "Heartless!"

Sure enough, there was lots of Shadow Heartless wandering aimlessly around the area. Kaned drew out his weapon, but Al stopped him. "Wait, I don't think they're attacking anyone…"

Just then, they heard voices coming from down the street.

"So Chris, what do you think about these guys?"

"I dunno, they kinda creep me out."

"Quick, over here!" The trio ducked into an alleyway as the speakers came into view.

One was a large, slightly humanoid blue hedgehog with white gloves and red and white sneakers. The other was a human boy of about twelve, with messy russet-colored hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a red and white t-shirt over a long-sleeved black and white shirt, jeans, and blue and yellow sneakers.

"Aw come on," The hedgehog grinned. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, it would be cool if we could make them do whatever we want?"

"I guess…"

"Let's go back to your place and see if your Grandpa has anything prepared." And with that, the hedgehog was off, zipping away at an incredibly fast speed in a sapphire blur.

Left behind in a cloud of dust, the boy sighed and muttered, "I wish just this once, he'd let me catch up to him….Hey Sonic! Wait up!"

After the boy ran off, Kaneda turned to the others. "Well, what do you think?"

"That's one fast hedgehog?"

"No….well… yeah, but if we were able to control the Heartless, that would make our job easier! Let's follow 'em and see where they're going."

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Soon, they were standing outside the gates of a lavish-looking mansion, taking the time to send Nyokimon, a small white seed-like Digimon back to the ship. Just as then, was a loud explosion that sent a pillar of acrid smoke into the air.

"What was that?" Ed exclaimed.

"I dunno," Kaneda answered, "But it came from the other side of this fence. C'mon Al, give me a boost."

They managed to get over the fence and hid behind some bushes, watching quietly as a gray-haired man in a lab coat emerged from a small building, coughing loudly. With him was a yellow anthromorphic fox that had not one, but two tails.

"I don't understand. What went wrong?"

"Maybe the calibrations weren't right." The fox suggested, rubbing his face with a grimy glove.

Then the boy from before ran into view, looking worried. "Grandpa! Tails! Are you okay?"

The man nodded. "Yes, we're fine Chris, but our experiment has hit a snag."

"What are you doing anyway?" The boy – Chris - asked.

"We're trying to make a guidance system for the weird creatures in town… I think they're called Heartless. Yeah, that's it." The fox put in. "We're trying to see if we can control them, like a remote control.

"Hey, what's with all the ruckus?" They looked up as the hedgehog appeared, looking somewhat put out.

"They're doing an important experiment." Chris explained. "They want to make the Heartless do that they want them to."

The hedgehog paused and thought for a moment. "Heartless, huh? So what, they don't have a heart?"

The older man looked thoughtful. "Maybe if we added one the machine… I'll be right back."

He ran into the garage and returned moments later with a heart-shaped device that had a keyhole in the center. "Alright, we have a container with a lock, but now we need to open it."

From their vantage point in the bushes, Kaneda, Ed and Al saw and heard everything.

"This is gonna be easier than I thought!" Kaneda smirked. "All we gotta do is unlock the heart for them…"

He stuck his Keyblade out from the bushes, and prepared to fire a beam… but nothing came out.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a large hand roughly seized him and Ed by the scruff of the neck and dragged them out. Looking up, Kaneda saw a tall man in a suit pull them over to where the others were. "Lemme go!"

"I found these troublemakers hiding in the bushes," the man said. "What should I do with them?" He then turned his head at a rustling noise as Al stepped out from a hedge, hands raised.

"Please, we don't want any trouble."

The older man nodded. "Tanaka, I think it's safe to let them go."

"You heard him, Jeeves." Ed grinned. "You can let us go now."

The man did so, letting go of Kaneda and dropping Ed so he landed hard on his rear. The boy gave him an annoyed look, but the man just walked off into the mansion.

"You'll have to excuse Tanaka," the older man said. "He tends to be rough on intruders; although I see that you mean no harm. I'm Chuck Thorndyke by the way. This is my grandson, Chris (he motioned to the boy, who waved shyly), Tails (the fox in question just grinned) and…"

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive!" the blue hedgehog boasted, pointing to himself. "Just watch!" He raced off towards the horizon, and returned in a matter of seconds. The trio stared in amazement.

Kaneda blinked. "Wow." Shaking his head, he said, "I'm Kaneda by the way, and this is Ed, and his younger brother Al."

"It's nice to meet you." Tails said with a smile. "Wanna see our experiment?"

"Uh…okay."

Chuck took the heart-shaped device and took it into his workshop. The others followed, watching as he and Tails modified the machine to fit the smaller object.

"Now let's see… pulse, emotion, terror, fear, hope and despair. Those are the ingredients for a heart. Now let's just turn it on…"

He pulled a leaver, and the machine lit up, rumbling softly and making a humming noise… then it suddenly shut down, and the lights went down.

"It didn't work." Ed commented, stating the obvious.

"I don't get it! It should have worked." Tail said.

"Maybe we need to add something else… memory perhaps." Chuck said, and began rummaging through the various objects around him.

"I think Amy has it. She did say she was going to get forget-me-nots at the flowers store." (1) Chris put in.

Chuck sighed. "I guess this means we'll have to find her."

"Don't sweat it! We'll find her!" Sonic grinned.

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

When they returned to the city, they found it in complete anarchy, with people running everywhere, screaming their heads off, as they were pursued by various kinds of Heartless.

"Wow…what happened here?"

Before Ed could get his question answered, a movement caught his attention. He looked to see a small tan-furred rabbit girl in an orange dress was hiding behind a trash can. With her was a small light blue creature with a tear drop-shaped head and a tiny red bow tie.

"Cream?"

Startled, the rabbit girl looked up at them, and recognizing the hedgehog, ran straight to him, with the tiny creature flying after her.

"Sonic!"

"Chao chao!"

"Cream, what's going on?" Sonic asked her.

"I don't know!" The girl wailed. "Those funny black things suddenly went wild and started attacking people!"

"Do you think it had something to do with the experiment?" Al asked.

"Maybe. We'd better get moving."

Sonic looked up and said, "Hey Chris, do you think you could take Cream and Cheese back to the mansion for us?"

The boy nodded. "Sure…but what about you?"

"Don't worry." Sonic grinned. "We'll be fine. You can count on it!"

And with that, they all ran off, leaving the three of them behind.

"Come on." Chris said, taking Cream's hand gently. "Let's go."

The girl nodded, and taking the boy's hand they both turned and ran toward the mansion.

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

The group didn't get too far before they ran into a large group of Heartless. "We don't have time for this!" Kaneda yelled, swinging his weapon and destroying several Shadows in one blow.

The others rushed into battle, especially Sonic, who was a big help. He was able to take out multiple Heartless before they even knew what hit them. It was with his aid that they quickly took out the offending creatures.

"HEY!"

They looked up and saw a humanoid echidna heading their way. Its (his, probably) fur was a bright red, with a small white streak on his upper chest. What looked like dreadlocks hung from the sides on his head, but what really drew their attention was the fact that he had large-looking fists clad in white gloves.

Sonic grinned and waved. "Hey Knuckles!"

Kaneda blinked. "Knuckles?" That's when he noticed the small spikes protruding from between the echidna's knuckles, hence the odd name.

The echidna crossed his arms and tapped a sneakered foot impatiently. "Do you mind telling me what's going on here?" he demanded. Ed and Al looked at each other, silently noting the fact that Knuckles sounded an awful lot like the Pharaoh… (2)

"Not much, just a bunch of evil dark creatures runnin' around." Sonic answered. "Have you seen Amy anywhere?"

"Well, I did see her at the park…"

"Great! Thanks!" And with that, Sonic was off like a shot, the others trailing after him.

"Hey come back here! I'm not done talking yet!" Knuckles sighed and ran in the direction they had gone

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Arriving at the park, they found (besides a white blob named Poyomon) a pink hedgehog in a red dress and matching boots standing around.

"Sonic!" She beamed, waving. "Did you come here to ask me on a date?"

"Actually, we need the 'Memory'." Al put in.

"Oh…"

At that moment, they were mobbed by more Heartless. "Back off!" Amy shouted. She pulled a large hammer from out of nowhere and began bashing them with it.

"She's tough." Ed commented.

"No kidding." Al agreed with a nod.

When the Heartless were finished, Amy turned back to them and leaned on her hammer.

"So, you want the 'memory', huh?"

"Yeah, Tails and Chuck need it for their experiment." Ed explained.

"Huh. This I gotta see!"

After they all left, three beings stuck their heads out from behind a bench. Two were robots, one tall and gold-colored, the other short and silver-colored. The last one was a small blackish creature.

"Did you hear that?" asked the first robot.

"I sure did! They're making a heart!" said the other robot.

"We'd better tell the Doctor!" the small creature exclaimed. He pulled out a small remote and pressed a button, teleporting them into a large room filled with all sorts of gadgetry.

A large-egg-shaped man in a red and yellow jacket and black pants with a distinguished moustache leaned over towards them from where he was sitting. "Well, what is it? Tell me, and it better be important!"

The threesome saluted smartly. "Sir!" Spoke up the gray robot, "Sonic and the others are making a heart?" Then the three of them, Decoe, Becoe and Bokkun, stood straight, waiting for the doctor's response.

"A heart, eh? Hm… I just might be able to control the Heartless with it! And then not even Sonic can stop me! AHAHAHAHAH!"

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

When the group returned to the mansion, they found everyone waiting for them

"Did you get it?" Chuck asked.

"Yep, right here." Kaneda took the object, a forget-me-not, and gave it to him.

"Alright, now to put it in…"

As he went to add the part to the mechanical heart, Sonic turned to the echidna beside him and asked, "What do you think, Knuckles?"

"Actually, I'm curious to see what all the hubub's about." He answered.

Chuck stepped back from the device, and then looked down at a list and said, "Okay, let's see… all we need now is Surprise…"

"I think I know where that is!" Everyone looked at Cream.

"You do? Where?"

The small rabbit smiled shyly before speaking up again. "In the arcade, I saw it in a big machine. Maybe it's still there…"

"Great! Let's go check it out!"

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

The arcade was pretty much abandoned; however the power was still on, so it looked like people had been there recently, but had left in a hurry.

"Split up. It's gotta be here somewhere!"

They combed the whole place, looking at arcade games, prize-grabbers, pinball machines, and even behind the prize booth.

"I found it!" Everyone ran to where Al was. "There!" He pointed to a machine that had various items on racks behind a glass case with lights on the sides. (3)

"How does it work?" Ed asked.

"It's easy." Kaneda said. "You just need to match the light with what you want. Here I'll show you." He stepped up to the machine, and… "Uh…anybody got any change?"

Everybody else face-faulted. "Uh… I think I might have some." Knuckles pulled out a few coins from a small bag and handed them to the teen.

"Thanks. Now let's see…"

He fed the coins into the machine, which quickly started as lights flashed around the edges, going from one light to another. Kaneda's hands hovered over the button, waiting.

"Come on…come on…"

"Hurry it up Kaneda!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Quit rushing me!" Kaneda snapped back. He turned back to the machine just as the light reached his goal… "There!" He slammed down on the button just as the light reached a certain point, and the object he wanted, a miniature jack-in-the box dropped into the prize slot. Kaneda reached down to get it.

"You did it!" Al shouted happily.

"Yeah…" the teen looked down at the object in his hand. "C'mon, let's go back."

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

At the Thorndyke mansion, everyone was eager to see the experiment finally work.

"Okay everyone, this is it!" Chuck announced. He reached towards the lever and was about to pull it when…

"YAAAH!"

Without warning, Bokkun appeared out of nowhere and snatched the device from the machine, and then flew off using a rocket belt.

"He's got the heart!"

"Stop him!"

They all ran outside, but the dark creature was nowhere to be seen.

"Dammit! He got away!" Kaneda shouted angrily.

"Don't worry!" Tails beamed. "I put a tracking device in the robotic heart just in case it was stolen!"

"Smart thinking Tails!" Sonic said, grinning. "C'mon, let's go get it back!"

"I'm coming with you!" Amy yelled.

"Are you sure about this?" Tails asked.

"Sure I'm sure! I can't let you guys have all the fun!"

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Soon, they all were flying in Tails' plane, the X-Tornado, towards the cybernetic heart's location. Tails and Al were sitting in the seats, while Sonic, Amy, Kaneda, Ed, and Knuckles had to cling to the sides.

"Are you sure this is safe!" Kaneda yelled.

"Of course," Sonic answered. "I do it all the time!"

"That's not what I…"

"Hey! The signal's getting stronger!" Tails exclaimed.

They all looked up and saw a mechanical tower with a blue glass-dome top looming in front of them.

"Eggman! I should have guessed!" Knuckles growled.

"Who's Eggman?" Al asked Tails.

"He's this evil scientist that's been bothering us for a long time," the fox explained. "I'm not surprised he's behind this!"

"We're coming in for a landing!" Tail announced, as they flew behind a wall of trees. As soon as they landed, they all disembarked and were greeted by Sonic.

"It's about time you got here! Ready to get that heart back?"

"You bet!"

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

They journeyed through the hallways pretty easily since Tails hacked into the system and shut off the security cameras, Other than the occasional Heartless attack, it was very quiet. Traveling further on, they noticed the crude, mustached face stamped over practically everything.

"What are those?" Ed questioned.

"Just pictures of Eggman's face," answered Tails, not looking up from the monitor of his tracking device.

"Okay, is it just me, or does this guy love himself a little _too _much?" Kaneda remarked with a frown. (4)

"I never really noticed." Said Amy, looking around.

"Well, _I_ wouldn't be surprised." Sonic grinned.

Sneaking through the hallways, they soon found a comma-shaped Digimon named Pichimon. After sending it to the ship, they continued on into a rounded room where two robots and a little black thing were carrying boxes back and forth.

"Just why does the Doctor need that robotic heart anyway?"

"I don't know. He said it was for something important."

"Hey! You three!" They jumped as Kaneda charged into the room with the others not too far behind. "What did you do with the Heart!"

"We'll never tell you!" Bokkun screeched. He reached into a bag and pulled out a handful of bombs, which he threw at them. Meanwhile, Decoe and Becoe ran for their lives.

"Oh no you don't!" Knuckles practically flew towards them and knocked them to the ground.

At the same time, Sonic managed to snatch up all the bombs in midair, as Amy smacked Bokkun with her hammer, and sent him crashing into a pile of junk.

Knuckles grabbed Decoe and Becoe and slammed against the wall, shouting, "Now talk!"

"We won't speak to the likes you!" Becoe said bravely.

The echidna said nothing, merely slammed his fist into the wall, causing it to crumble. Both robots sweatdropped and looked nervous.

"I just remembered! The doctor has it!"

"Y-yeah! Go see him!"

Bokkun sweatdropped, and muttered, "You guys are pathetic!"

"Thank you." Knuckles turned to the others. "Well you heard them! Let's go pay the doctor a visit!"

As they ran off, Becoe commented nervously, "We are gonna get in _so _much trouble for this!"

**_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Eggman was startled when his door exploded, revealing seven figures. "Knock knock!"

"Sonic! How did you get in!" Eggman demanded angily.

"Just a bit of technical know-how on our part." The hedgehog grinned.

"Besides, some little birdies told us you happened to have the heart we're looking for!" Knuckles added.

"Yeah, so give it back!" Ed shouted.

A wicked smile spread over the evil scientist's face. "Oh, so you want the heart, do you? Well come and take it!" And with that, he stuck it the machine behind him. Instantly, there was a chill in the air as the atmosphere changed. Eggman sat back, cackling madly.

"Now I summon forth the power of the Heartless!" He shouted, raising one arm in the air. Next to him, two black puddles appeared as two Shadow Heartless rose out of them. Eggman's face turned livid. "WHAT!"

"Heh. Looks like that heart's a dud!" Kaneda smirked.

Eggman pounded a fist on the console. "Oh forget it! I'll destroy you myself!"

He pressed a button and the spot where he was sitting slowly rose up to reveal a hovercraft. A glass dome covered his head, and various weapons emerged from the sides. "Now you'll face the fury of my Egg Craft!" (5)

He dove at them, firing lasers and missiles, forcing them to jump out of the way. "This oughta be a piece of cake!" Sonic said with a grin. Then he turned and ran at the hovercraft, jumping in to the air as a blue orb…

"Got you!" Eggman pressed another button and a yellow laser beam shot out and hit sonic, rendering him immobile in midair.

"Oh no! Sonic!" Shouted Tails, worried.

"AHAHAHAH! How do like my Stasis Beam, hedgehog? It took me a while, but I finally figured out how to create a device to keep you still while I eliminate you!" From the front of the Egg Craft, came a spinning laser blade on a mechanical arm. It made a sinister whirling noise as its reddish blade came closer to the captive's neck…

"NO!" Kaneda jumped forward and in a single stroke, cleaved the arm holding the Stasis Beam, freeing Sonic in time.

"Thanks pal!" The hedgehog grinned.

"No problem!"

"That's not fair! You can't do that!" the doctor yelled, his face redder than a tomato.

"Yeah, well I did so tough luck!"

"Grr.. eat THIS!"

A salvo of missiles flew at Kaneda, who blocked them with a Light Wall spell. Ed attacked using Inferno Blast, and Knuckles started punching down robotic arms, while Amy knocked several missiles away.

"Take that! And that!"

"Man! This is taking too long!" Kaneda yelled, ducking to avoid a robot arm.

"Got any other ideas?" demanded Knuckles, punching it.

"Just one!" Pulling out a white stone, he chanted, "Being of great power! I summon you! Come forth, PLUE!" There was a flash of white light, and the tiny white figure appeared, shaking nervously, as usual.

"Puuun…"

"Aww… That' so cute!" Amy grinned, and the others sweatdropped.

"Hah! Do you think that pathetic thing can stop me?" Eggman cackled.

Kaneda just smiled. "Looks can be deceiving! Ready Plue?"

"Puun!"

"RAVELUTION!"

A turquoise aura surrounded Plue before a huge beam shot forth, slamming violently into the Egg Craft, and throwing it against a wall.

"Wow."

"Great job Plue!" Kaneda beamed. The little creature looked back at him and gave him a thumbs-up before he vanished.

"Hey look at this!"

Everyone looked at where Tails was pointing and saw a folder with "Dartz's Report #7" printed on it.

"Huh. Well, I'm sure the 'good doctor' won't mind if we 'borrow' this for a bit." Kaneda said with a grin.

One by one, they left the room. When they were gone, Dr. Eggman slowly got up and pressed a button.

"Decoe, Becoe, Bokkun! Come up here at once! We have some unfinished business to take care of!"

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

As they left the tower, they started talking about the mechanical heart's failure.

"So, why do you think it didn't work?" Knuckles asked.

"Who knows? At least it didn't end up bad for us!"

At that moment and without warning the ground began to shake violently.

"Wha…? Is it an earthquake?" Amy shouted.

"I don't think so! Look!" Tails yelled.

They all spun around to see eight spider leg-like appendages emerge from the bottom of the tower, lifting it out of the ground. Laser cannons and rocket launchers emerged from its sides, along with about five large rotating mechanical arms attached to enormous blackish-purple orbs that were surrounded by a dark aura. (6)

"Oh boy…"

Suddenly, they heard laughter emanating from above their heads. "Hahahah! You can't stop the Egg Tower!" From his perch on the top of the tower, Egmman grinned evilly.

"All weapons are online!" Decoe announced.

"Perfect! Now Sonic, prepare for your utter destruction!"

Down below, the group swallowed nervously.

"Oh boy…"

"Hey, I'm getting a reading!" Tails exclaimed. "It seems Eggman's getting his power from those dark orbs!"

"So all we gotta do is smash 'em, right?"

"Precisely."

Kaneda grinned and cracked his knuckles. "Okay, let's do it!"

"Okay, and just _how _are we gonna get up there!" Ed shouted.

The teen slumped forward. "Oh…right."

"I'll get the X-Tornado!" Tail said, "You keep it busy!"

"That shouldn't be too hard." Knuckles commented.

As Tails ran off to get his plane, Eggman

"Leaving so soon? But the party's just getting STARTED!" He pressed a button and a laser beam shot towards the little fox… but Al jumped in front of him with his shield out, reflecting the attack at the tower, and hitting a dark orb. Hurriedly Tail got up and ran off.

"Sir! We've lost 20 percent of our power!" Decoe announced.

"Damn! They must have figured out what we're using the dark orbs for!"

"Whadda'll we do!" Bokkun yelled.

"Destroy 'em before they can wreck more!" Eggman then flipped a switch, sending out a barrage of missiles. Al barely had any time to get out of the way.

"Hey! You leave my brother alone!" Ed shouted angrily. "Lighting Strike!" A lightning bolt came out of nowhere and shattered an orb into pieces.

"40 percent gone!" announced Becoe worriedly. Eggman growled and grit his teeth.

"Okay, that'll do for the bottom two, so how do we get to the top ones?" Kaneda asked.

"Leave it to me!" A voice shouted. They all looked up and saw Tails flying in.

"Alright Tails! I knew you wouldn't let us down!" Sonic exclaimed.

Everyone climbed on, and the plane took off towards the top of the tower.

"STOP THEM!" Eggman bellowed in rage.

"Yes, Doctor," said Decoe.

Another slew of missiles shot up and rained down on the small plane.

"Hang on!" Tails swerved to avoid the missiles, and everyone on the wings was forced to hold on tight. Amy managed to knock a few of them away.

"I got an idea! Gravity Blast!" Kaneda created a black energy ball that sent a few missiles flying backwards into an orb. "Yes!"

"60 Percent! No… 80!" Decoe shrieked, as Knuckles suddenly flew down towards an orb, shattering it in a single blow, before returning to the X-Tornado as it flew past.

"That's it! No more mister nice guy! Hit them with everything we got!" Eggman yelled.

"Okay, one more to go!" announced Tails.

"Let me handle this!" Sonic grinned.

At that moment, a startling amount of lasers, rocket launchers, and a wide variety of other weapons emerged from its sides.

"This is bad…"

At the top part of the tower, Eggman screamed, "FIRE!" and a TON of lasers and missiles barraged the small craft and its helpless passengers. In the ensuing mayhem, Sonic lost his balance and fell of the wing, plummeting towards the ground.

"SONIC!" Amy screamed.

Eggman cackled loudly. "Now we got him!"

In the cockpit of the X-Tornado, Tails hurriedly pressed a button, and a small rocket shot out towards Sonic.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Ed shouted, hanging on the tail for dear life.

"Don't worry! It's all taken care of!"

"Yeah, you can trust him." Amy said.

Sure enough, the missile split open to reveal a glowing golden ring. Sonic grabbed the ring and suddenly shot up through an orb above him. (7)

"100 Percent power loss!" screamed Bokkun.

Eggman said nothing, just looked skywards… through the blue-tinted glass; he saw a blurry shape fall downwards at an angle. The shape (Sonic, of course), bounced off a tree and struck the Egg Tower with enough force to make it topple over.

"I HATE THAT HEDGEHOOOOG!" (8) The evil scientist screamed loudly, as the whole structure collapsed, sending up a cloud of dust.

On the X-Tornado, everyone cheered in victory. The plane landed, and everyone got off, just as a Keyhole appeared. Kaneda pulled out his Keyblade, and pointed it at the hole, sending out a white beam that locked it forever.

They stood there in silence, as Sonic appeared. The hedgehog looked at the spot where the Keyhole had been, then looked back at the group, and said, "Did I miss something?"

Ed grinned and put one had behind his head. "Well, we'll explain it later."

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Later, at the mansion, Kaneda and the others were explaining everything that had happened.

"…So… the heart didn't work?" Chris asked when they were finished.

"Nope. But maybe it was a good thing; otherwise, we would have been in serious trouble." Kaneda pointed out.

"Let's face it," Sonic sighed. "We just can't control the Heartless."

"So much for our experiment." Tails muttered softly. "All that work for nothing…"

"Well, just be glad it didn't turn out worse than it could have." Knuckles said. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Nobody got hurt… well, except Eggman." added Amy.

There was silence for a moment, before Ed spoke up. "I guess we'd better be going then."

"Okay. But take this with you, as a souvenir." Tails gave them a keychain that resembled a blue orb. "It's the Sonic Boom keychain. Keep it with you, alright?"

Kaneda nodded. "Sure."

As the group left, Chuck mused, "Emotion, memory… we put all the necessary ingredients in that heart... what else do you need to make one? Just what is a heart anyway? I just can't figure it out."

"Maybe we're not supposed to know." Chris said.

"Perhaps…who knows?"

**_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_**

Back at the ruins of the Egg Tower, Eggman and his henchbeings slowly got up.

"How many defeats was that?" Decoe questioned, rubbing his head.

"By my calculations, we've had about two thousand, four-hundred and thirty-four failed attempts to destroy Sonic." Becoe answered. (9)

Eggman groaned and put a hand to his forehead. "I'm _surrounded_ by idiots…"  
**_  
To be continued…_**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1- I'm not sure exactly how this works exactly, but I'm leaving it like this. Incidentally, just _how _can you have memory in a heart?

2- Seeing as they are both voiced by the same person.

3- By the way, this is one of the prize games that involve the player waiting for the light to reach the spot they want and pressing the button. I figured it fit the bill more than a prize-grabber machine.

4- I'm just pointing out something I've noticed in some of the recent games.

5- I know it's a dumb name, but I wanted it to be like something out of the video games.

6- I don't know how many dark orbs were originally used there in the game, so I'm making it up.

7- Like in the first episode.

8- This is taken from the cartoon, "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedghog". I may have seen it and some of the other old 'toons, but that was a long time ago, and I remember barely anything about them. That's probably why I prefer Sonic X, since I'm more familiar with it.

9-I'm making it up since I don't know how many defeats they had to the show, even before they ended up in that one universe. And no, this scene is not intended to be like the final part of the previous chapter; it just came out that way.


	12. Chapter 11: Rise of the Phoenix

NOTE: This chapter will be for the show Monster Rancher. I really liked it, but I haven't seen an episode in years. Worse yet, there's another season they won't show in America! Grr…

Anyway, this chapter will be somewhat like the show, but only tailored to fit the Kingdom Hearts story, so it'll be a lot different from the "last episode".

Oh, and I may have taken a few things from Key18's totally awesome Kingdom Hearts parody, but I **_asked_** first, so don't get any ideas.

* * *

Chapter 10: Rise of the Phoenix

The heroes' ship cruised gently though the sky of another world, unaware of the flying castle that was slowly moving after them…

Onboard, Al blinked. "Uh… I think we're being followed."

Kaneda sat up. "What?!"

Ed ran to the controls and peered at the screen. "It's gonna ram us!" he yelled.

Sure enough, the castle swooped down faster than anyone expected, slamming into them and knocking the ship on its side. The occupants screamed as they fell into the unknown… (1)

* * *

_**World Name: Monster World**_

* * *

When Kaneda came to, the first thing he was aware of was the severe headache he had. Putting one hand to his forehead, he groaned. "Ow…anyone got an aspirin?" Putting his hand down, he looked at his surroundings. "Ed? Al? Where are you?"

"Hello, Kaneda."

Surprised, the teen spun around to see… "Tetsuo!" Kaneda quickly jumped to his feet.

"Good to see you again." Tetsuo's voice was eerily calm.

"What's going on?! Where are my friends!?" Kaneda demanded.

Tetsuo merely smirked. "Are they more important to you than old friends? Do you care more about running around and saving the day like a Power Ranger?"(2) Ignoring the confused expression on his friend's face, he added, "You should be more worried about…her." He pointed off to the side, and Kaneda followed his gaze… then gasped.

"Kei!"

Indeed, the teenage girl was lying motionless on the ground behind them, not moving a muscle.

"While you were off playing hero, I was the one who found her." Tetsuo boasted, but Kaneda paid no attention, he just ran towards where Kei was lying. Suddenly, a large arm blocked his way. Kaneda glanced up to see a pair of hateful red eyes glaring at him.

"Not so fast boy." Moo's deep voice boomed.

Suddenly, they were surrounded, not just by Heartless, but creatures that could only be described as monsters. There were black Tyrannosaurs, humanoid blue blobs, and purple plant-like creatures with flowers on their head and a mouth on their otherwise blank face. All of them bore a small circular pendant with an image of a bird on it. (3)

"Tetsuo? Why are you working with the Heartless?"

The teen in question smirked. "The Heartless obey _me _now, Kaneda. I have nothing to worry about."

Kaneda angrily clenched his fists and shouted, "TETSUO YOU IDIOT! DON'T YOU KNOW THE HEARTLESS ONLY LIVE TO TAKE PEOPLE'S HEARTS?!?!?!?"

"Humph. You're the idiot here. The Heartless will never take my heart away! And in any case, I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Tetsuo held up one hand and it glowed with a dark energy.

Sensing something behind him, Kaneda turned around… and saw what looked like a shadowy version of him with yellow eyes rise out of the ground. The whole thing gave him a sense of déjà vu. (4)

"You can see your friends now." Tetsuo snapped his fingers once, and a hole appeared under Kaneda's feet, sending him falling downwards into the void. When he was gone, Tetsuo turned to Moo and said, "Let's get going. And keep Kaneda away from the girl until we land, got it?" And with that, he walked off.

"That brat! Thinking he can get away with bossing _me_ around!" Moo growled angrily.

A purple plant-creature, known as a Weed, nervously sidled up to Moo, shaking quietly. It wore armor that showed it was a Captain. "M-Master, what are we going to do?"

If Moo had a visible mouth, he would have been smiling evilly. "Nothing. There are lots of Heartless within the ship. They'll take care of those fools."

"B-but the Rebels are down there too!"

"Humph. I'm not worried."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaneda came to, groaning loudly. "Ow… not again…"

"Ahem. Could you please get off me!?" A muffled voice shouted.

"…Huh?" Kaneda stood up and saw Ed lying on the floor, drumming his fingers across its smooth surface. "Oh…sorry."

"Hey Kaneda!" The teen looked up and saw Al and Morty standing in the corner, along with a pink blob they later learned was called Purumon.

"Hey Guys!" he grinned. "Guess who I found?"

"Who?"

"My friend Kei! I finally found her!" Kaneda's grin stretched his face to its limits. "I have to know where she is!"

"But we have to get out first!" Morty pointed out.

Kaneda blinked. "Huh?" He looked around, and realized that they were in some sort of jail cell. "Great…just great…"

"Hey you in there! Ya wanna get out?"

They all turned to face the door, and saw someone peeking in.

"Yeah, duh!" Ed snapped.

"Okay." The person stepped back from the door, and they heard voices.

"Are you sure we should do this?" asked a new voice.

"Of course, Suezo. They don't look like baddies."

"Humph." said another voice. "If you're sure…TORPEDO!" Everyone in the cell jumped as electricity struck the door, destroying the hinges. Then something else slammed into the door and knocked it over.

There, standing in the doorway was a human boy of about ten, with clear blue eyes and messy brown hair mostly hidden beneath a yellow baseball cap. He wore a dirty t-shirt, brown pants, and leather boots, along with a backpack slung over his shoulders.

"You okay?"

The others nodded silently, as they emerged from the cell. Then they noticed the creatures standing next to the boy. The first one looked like a yellow worm balanced on its tail with a single, enormous eyeball with a small mouth just below it. Next to the eyeball-worm was a blue and white-furred wolf that had horns growing out of its head, as well as a nasty-looking scar over one eye. Behind the wolf was a bipedal brown rabbit with hands that looked more like baseball mitts and a lighter-furred chest. A red bandanna was tied around its neck, and a stick with a cloth tied at the end was held over its shoulder. There was also a small pinkish creature with a duck bill and a green shell on its back, and a huge creature made out of stone that dwarfed them all.

The human boy took no notice of their staring, as he grinned and said, "Hi! My name's Genki! And these are my friends, Hare…"

"Salutations!" The rabbit waved.

"Tiger…"

"Hey." the blue and white wolf muttered almost silently.

"Suezo…"

"Heya!" beamed the eyeball.

"Golem…"

"Hello." The rock man said in a deep voice that matched his size.

"And Mocchi!"

"Hi, chi!" grinned the pink creature.

"Uh, hi. I'm Kaneda, and these are my friends, Ed, his brother Al, and Morty."

"So, didja get sucked into this world too?"

"Huh?" The boy's question knocked Kaneda completely off guard.

"You know, playing Monster Rancher 200X and getting pulled into the Monster world?"

"Um…not really…" He turned to the others. "What is he talking about?"

"Hm… The Pharaoh did mention something about worlds that were very close to each other…" (5) Al said thoughtfully.

"If I may interrupt…"They turned to face Tiger, who continued, "Well still have to locate our friend Holly."

"What a coincidence! I'm looking for my friend too!" Kaneda said.

Genki smiled. "Well, then, why don't we look together?"

"I dunno…"

"Aw…come on!"

"Hey, you there!" Everyone turned and saw a variety of monsters, such as the blue blobs –Jells- black tyrannosaurs- Black Dinos- and purple plants- Weeds- heading towards them. "Stop!"

"Let's finish this later!"

The boy nodded, and they rushed into battle. Mocchi leapt into the air and shouted, "Cherry Blossom Blizzard!" sending a strong wind and pink flower petals to slam into several opponents and send them flying into a wall.

"Machine Gun Punch!" Hare, after putting down his traveling gear, started mercilessly pummeling a Weed.

"Tornado!" Golem's body parts separated, and then reformed as a whirling tornado that sent Jells, Black Dinos and Weeds flying.

Meanwhile, Suezo was cornered by a bunch of Black Dinos. "Uh…uh…Tail Attack!" He leapt into the air and struck them with his tail.

Tiger growled, lashing at attackers with his claws and teeth. "Torpedo!" The same lighting that broke the cell door shot from his horns and zapped an approaching Weed.

Kaneda fought off a Black Dino, while Al thrashed some Weeds, and Ed took on a Jell, which was difficult, seeing as his weapon went through the Jell's liquid body. His opponent smirked and lashed out at him.

"Nii-chan!" Al yelled, running over to him.

"I'm fine Al," he muttered, "But these guys are pretty tough." They looked up as the same Jell came forward, ready to attack, when Tiger jumped in the way.

"Here! Ice Bullet!" A piece of ice struck the Jell, instantly freezing it. "Okay, now you can get him."

"Um… thanks?"

"Don't mention it." And with that, he leapt on the back of a Black Dino that had been trying to sneak up on them.

Ed rushed forward, and struck the frozen Jell; it shattered into thousands of pieces "I think I got it now! Artic Freeze!" He unleashed the spell on several more Jells, turning them into ice sculptures. Finally, all their attackers were either defeated or had fled.

"Whew." breathed Kaneda, "I think that's it…huh?"

The bodies of the fallen monsters started to glow and shift until all that was left were short, stunted plant-like things wrapped around a stone disk.

"Uh…mind filling us in here?" questioned Al.

"It's like this, Kid," Suezo explained. "Monsters come from Mystery Disks, which can be 'unlocked' by people and other Monsters, and when we die, we become Lost Disks."

"Well, it certainly doesn't do much for the interior." Ed commented, looking around.

"When a monster is a Lost Disk, it can't be unlocked." Golem added sadly.

"Only a powerful monster, like Moo, for example, can change a Lost Disk Back into a monster." Hare put in.

"But so can the Pheonix, Chi!" grinned Mocchi.

"The Pheonix?" Morty asked.

"Yeah, that's the Monster we're looking for." Tiger said. "We were busy searching when a bunch of Baddies showed up and took Holly. Without her, we can't find the Phoenix. We were able to get some friends to bring us here, and that's when we met you."

"I take it you need some help locating her, huh? Don't worry, I think we can help." Ed said, grinning.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Genki grinned, removing his boots and putting on a pair of orange rollerblades in their place. "Let's go!"

* * *

_Somewhere else…._

"So Holly isn't one of the Chosen Ones?" Moo asked Tetsuo curiously.

"Apparently so. There are seven Princesses, and Myotismon says she doesn't belong with them. Better take off and leave any dead weight behind, including her."

"Humph. And after all the trouble I went through to get her… But why does Myotismon need those seven? What is he planning?"

Tetsuo shrugged. "Who knows? But as I get Kei back, I couldn't care less."

Moo's eyes narrowed into slits. "You're wasting your time, boy. The Heartless will have probably devoured her heart by now!"

The teenager gave him a dark look. "I'll find it, no matter what. And you can't say anything to change my mind!"

At that moment, a thin, nervous voice came over an intercom. "Uh…M-master? The prisoners have escaped!"

"WHAT!?"

"And not only that, but the rebels are with them!"

With a single punch, Moo destroyed the intercom. "Damn those annoying pests! Turning to a passing Jell, he shouted, "Bring the hostage to my quarters immediately!"

"Y-yes Master!" The Jell saluted hastily, and then scurried off to do his master's bidding.

* * *

At the same time, Kaneda and the rest were walking, (and unaware that they were being watched) when they heard a girl's voice. (6)

"Hello?" Is anyone out there?"

"Holly!" Genki jumped into the air excitedly. "Is that you?"

"Yes…please hurry! They're coming to take me away!" The voice had a fearful tone now.

"Hold on! We'll be right there!" They started to run, but Kaneda quickly stopped.

"Hey Holly…"

In her cell, the girl jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. "Y-yes?"

"Is there another girl with you?"

Silence. And then…

"Yes… but she's not moving. I don't know if she's asleep or…"

Kaneda felt his heart swell with you." Kei? Kei!" No answer. The teen sighed and looked down at the ground sadly. "Nothing…"

Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from the shadows and leapt at them, knocking Kaneda down. He quickly stood up, and saw none other than his shadowy doppelganger standing in front of him. The being said nothing, just pulled down one eyelid and rudely stuck out its tongue at him before turning and running.

"Why you--! Get back here!" Kaneda took off, with the others close behind. Soon they ran into a large room.

"Where'd he…you…it… go?" Suezo panted.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone here." Tiger said.

Kaneda shook his head. "No. He's here. I can feel it." He put a hand over his heart and continued, "He came from the darkness in my heart, that's why I can sense him. I know he's…whoa!"

The shadowy figure (from here on out known as AntiKaneda) emerged from the shadows and drew out a dark version of the Keyblade. The others stepped forward, but Kaneda held a hand out, saying, "No, this is my fight, so stay back!"

AntiKaneda rushed at him, weapon drawn, but he blocked it, and, moving backwards, ran forward, and took a swipe at it. His blade made contact with shadowy flesh, and the being fell back, but not for long.

The two combatants repeatedly clashed swords, attacking each other when they had the chance. AntiKaneda took a swipe at Kaneda's head, but he dropped to one knee and kicked his opponent's legs, sending it crashing to the ground. His opponent shakily got to its feet, pushing itself up with its mock Keyblade.

"Give it up! You're finished!"

The figure said nothing, but smirked evilly as three exact copies appeared beside it.

Kaneda sweatdropped. "Oh crap."

As one, the four figures rushed him, and sent the teen sprawling to the ground. Kaneda groaned as he slowly got up in pain. The dark specters sadistically watched his every movement like vultures waiting for their prey to die.

_Damn! How am I gonna beat this guy if I don't know which one it is?! _Kaneda's eyes widened suddenly with realization. _That's it!_

Shutting his eyes tightly, he focused on finding the true AntiKaneda. And sure enough, there it was, surrounded by a purple aura that he could see in his mind.

"Found you, Faker!"

Without any hesitation, he ran towards the Doppelganger, catching it off guard as his blade sliced through its body like a hot knife through butter. AntiKaneda let out a pained scream, the only sound they heard it make, before it dissolved into a black smoke, with the other copies quickly following suit.

Kaneda paused to wipe his brow, and, out of the corner of his eye, spotted a feminine figure sitting with their back against the wall. He turned, hoping it was Kei, but it wasn't. Instead, it was a girl of about 16 or 17, with long brown hair tied back in a braid wearing a red dress. Around her neck was a green pendant that seemed to glow softly. Crouching beside her was a small white creature known as Tokomon.

"Holly!" Genki ran to her side, and kneeled down. "Is she…?"

"She's still breathing, so she's probably unconscious." Hare said.

"Great. So can we go find Kei now!?" Kaneda shouted.

"Take it easy," Tiger warned. "It's not a good idea to run into danger."

"Too dangerous." Said Golem, nodding.

Suezo shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, maybe you should…"

"I've had enough of this!" Kaneda pounded a wall with his fist before turning towards the door.

"Where you going, chi?"

"To find Kei myself!" The teen ran through the door and out of sight.

"Is he always like this?" asked Golem.

"Yeah, but you get used to it." sighed Morty.

Ed sighed. "Come on Al; let's go keep an eye on him."

* * *

Without knowing or caring where he was going, Kaneda ran headlong through the ship, and Ed and Al tried to keep up.

"Hey, hold on!"

"Yeah, slow down!"

As they reached a large balcony-like part, Kaneda slid to a halt, for in front of him, were various Monsters and Heartless. In the center of them all, stood Moo, leering maliciously at them, arms crossed over his armored chest.

"Quite an odd one, that Tetsuo," he said calmly. "He just ran off with Kei in tow."

Kaneda's face turned livid. "What?! Where did he go?!"

"To the ruins of Atlantis, of course. But you're not going there."

The trio looked behind them as more evil beings appeared, blocking their way out, and forcing them to the edge of the balcony. Ed stole a glance at the land below him and saw it was a long way down. They all looked back, and gasped when they saw Morty, Genki, Mocchi, Suezo, Hare, Tiger, and Golem being dragged in by several Monsters, (7) followed by several Jells holding Holly.

"Lemme go! Lemme go!" Genki shouted, thrashing wildly.

"It's your choice." Moo said coldly "The Keyblade, or a fall off the balcony."

Kaneda gulped, the Keyblade no longer in his hand at the moment. He looked at his friends, then at Moo, and said. "I'll never surrender to you!" And with that, he leapt over the edge.

"KANEDA!"

The teenager in question felt himself falling quickly, the wind rushing past his face and tugging at his clothing. _So… is this it?_ He wondered. Just then, he landed on something solid. Looking up, he saw that the skies were still moving overhead, but now it was going _sideways_. He glanced down and saw he was riding on the back of a red-scaled dragon. Around them were several other dragons, each the same crimson hue.

"How's it goin' kid?" Kaneda was startled when the dragon spoke to him. "My name's Falcon and this is my group, the Pirate Dragons." The other dragons roared in response.

"Anyway, we're backing up our friend Tiger, and since you happened to be nearby, I figured I'd save you."

Kaneda gave him a half-smile. "Thanks."

"Well, you'd better hang on kid, this might get rough." And with that, he swooped up the side of the castle, towards the balcony. As they reached the edge, Kaneda jumped off Falcon's back and landed on the ground.

"Hey Ugly!" he yelled to Moo. "Guess who's back!"

"Alright Kaneda!" Ed grinned.

"You?!" The evil monster growled. Turning to the various creatures nearby, he roared, "Get him!"

All of the creatures, Monsters and Heartless alike, rushed towards the teen, but then Falcon and the Pirate Dragons swooped down, shooting fireballs at the massed group, causing them to scatter. Kaneda's allies took this chance to burst into action.

Geni skated about, slamming himself into enemies, with Mocchi by his side, bouncing around like a demented pink pinball. Hare pummeled the baddies, Golem smashed them, Tiger zapped any attackers and Suezo…well…just lashed out blindly. Kaneda, Ed and Al fought off their opponents, and cast a few spells. Soon, they were all gone.

"Hey, where's Moo?" Al asked, looking around.

"I think he ran away." Golem said.

"Damn! We need to find him!"

"We'd better make sure Holly is safe." Genki pointed out.

Golem nodded and lifted Holly's motionless body up before they all ran of in pursuit of Moo.

* * *

While it was true that Moo had escaped, he did it not out of fear, but of the fact he was trying to get to a place where he could get the upper hand in battle. (8)

Meanwhile, the heroes ran down the hallways, only stopping to pick up Tanemon, a green plant-like Digimon. They soon ended up in a circular room, where they found a manila folder marked "DARTZ'S REPORT 9." This they stored away for safe keeping.

"Where is he?" Ed shouted in frustration after a fruitless search of the area.

"Calm down Nii-chan!" Al said, raising both hands to calm his brother.

Suddenly, the air was filled with an evil laughter.

"What was that!?"

Just then, Moo appeared, holding a small device. "Foolish Mortals, thinking you can stop me?!" He pressed a button, and a large force field appeared around them. "No that you can't get out, you will have no choice but to fight!" And with that, he unleashed a beam of red energy from his palm that they barely avoided.

"Doesn't this guy have a weakness?!" Ed yelled.

"We did fight him before." Suezo pointed out.

"And….?"

"He…kicked our butts."

Kaneda, Ed and Al facefaulted. "That's… not exactly helpful." Al said, getting up.

"Maybe I can summon someone to distract him…"

"Fine. But I get to summon it this time, since you got the last one!"

"Okay, okay, just do it!"

Ed took out a small blue stone and announced, "Creature of the waters! I summon you! Come fort, Squirtle!"

There was a brilliant flash of light that eventually formed itself into the Tinyturtle Pokemon. "Squirtle Squirt!" It exclaimed.

"Pathetic." Moo sneered, throwing a fireball at it. But Squirtle avoided the blow, and pulling on its sunglasses, spat out a stream of water at Moo's face

"Now! While he's distracted!" Genki shouted.

Mocchi jumped into the ear and yelled, "MOOCHI CANNON!" sending a beam of pink energy at the evil monster.

"Tornado!" Golem (having put Holly down in a safe spot) spun around, pummeling Moo's body.

"Tail Attack!" Suezo leapt up and slapped him in the face.

"Torpedo!" Lighting from Tiger's horns blasted the evil Monster, causing him to rear back.

"Driving Kick!" Hare jumped up, and dove downward, the impact sending the creature staggering backwards. Anyone who looked closely could have seen wisps of light emerging from the Monster's bodies, but no one was paying attention.

Then Al rushed in, striking him with his shield and Ed used the spell Inferno Blast. Genki and Kaneda were the last ones to attack, with the former leaping towards Moo and hitting him with his rollerblade-clad feet, and the former striking him a fierce blow, toppling the giant, and knocking down a wall, revealing the starlit sky.

"Did we get him?" Kaneda panted.

Suddenly, they all froze as Moo stood up, giving them all an evil glare. "Did you really think that would hurt me?"

"No…"

"Now, feel my wrath!" Moo raised one hand, preparing to throw another fireball at them… just then; there was a bright flash of light as a huge flaming bird appeared.

Moo spun around, his eyes widening in fear. "Impossible!"

"W-what is that?" Al asked nervously.

Genki smiled and replied, "The Phoenix, of course!"

The great firebird looked their way and spoke. Well, in a sort of telepathic way. (9)

"**Young ones, you'd better get out of here and head to safety. I'll handle Moo."**

"Come on!"

Everyone ran towards the hole in the wall, as the Phoenix flew at Moo, slashing with his talons. There, they found the Pirate Dragons waiting for them. Everyone hurried on (though Golem had to be carried by two of them) and they took off. Behind them, there was a huge fiery explosion, sending the castle falling downwards.

* * *

Sometime later, they stood in the overgrown ruins of an old village. Mounds of dirt where dead people had been buried and Lost Disks were scattered everywhere.

"Boy, this place is a dump." Ed commented.

"Me an' Holly used to live here!" Suezo yelled. Just then, the aforementioned girl started to stir.

"Hey, she's waking up!"

"Uh…what? Where…?"

"It's okay; you're back in your home village." Hare explained.

The girl sat upright. "What about Moo?"

"Gone. The Phoenix appeared and took care of him." Golem replied.

Holly looked down sadly. "Father…"

"Huh? What is it, chi?" Mocchi asked.

She quickly looked up at him. "Oh, nothing."

They all turned to look at Kaneda, who was staring off into space. All walked up to him and said, "Uh, Kaneda? If Kei couldn't wake up, maybe she lost her…"

"Al, shush!" Ed nudged him with his elbow.

"I can't believe it." Kaneda muttered. "I fought actual monsters, rode a dragon, and saw a real Phoenix! I wish Kei could have seen this. Wonder if she'll believe me…"

"Don't give up Kaneda! I know you'll find your friend!" Genki shouted. Kaneda turned to look at him.

"Yeah…all I gotta do is believe, right?"

Suddenly, he felt a tugging on his Keyblade, as a Keyhole appeared in the ground. The teen raised his weapon, and the small beam shot into the Keyhole, locking it.

Just then, they heard flapping of wings. Looking up, they watched as the Phoenix landed on the ground, neck bent forward.

"**I've been watching you, Keyblade Master, and I have decided to help you in your quest. My healing powers will certainly come in handy."**

"Uh…thanks…"

"**But first…."**

The Phoenix spread out his great wings, and countless golden sparkles flew out, and settled over the Lost Disks, surrounding them with a bright light. When it cleared, the plnat-like things surrounding them were gone.

"**Now the creatures in the disks can be reawakened." **The Phoenix told them

Holly smiled and put her hands together. "Thank you so very much!"

The Pheonix then turned to Genki and said, **"Young one, I think it is time for you to return to your home world."  
**  
"Aw… can't I stay a little longer? I'm not ready!"

The Pheonix sighed."**Very well then. You may stay here until I return." **

Genki's mouth stretched into a smile. "Ya mean it? Thanks!"

"If you're done here, I'd like to get going now." Kaneda muttered.

"**You sure are impatient for a human."** The Pheonix commented, sounding amused. **"Alright, let's go, but let me give this to you first."** He plucked a feather off one of his wings and let it drop into the teenager's outstretched hands. It sat there for a moment, before turning into a keychain.

"**The Phoenix's Feather Keychain will certainly help you in your quest."**

Kaneda nodded. "Yeah… thanks Phoenix."

"Just curious, how did you come back?" Genki asked.

The Phoenix gave them a look that resembled a smile. **"My body and soul were separated, but traces of my spirit lingered on in your friends, and when the time came, they were all summoned together to awaken me again." (11)**

The boy blinked. "Oh…that explains a lot."

* * *

Somewhere else, Tetsuo was crossing a stone pathway, when his head started to ache. Dropping to his knees, he clutched his head in pain as an image came to his mind

**_A small boy stood over a water fountain, cleaning off his dirty hands as he sobbed loudly, his small frame shaking. _**

****

**_"Hey." _**

****

**_The child glanced up, seeing an older boy next to him, holding a beat-up action figure. _**

****

**_"Is this yours?" _**

****

**_He nodded, gently taking the object from the older boy. _**

****

**_"You're new, right?" He got a nod in response. "They do that all the time to new kids," he continued. "I should know; I was new here once. " With that, he leaned over the fountain and took a drink._**

****

**_"M-my name's Tetsuo Shima," the younger boy said nervously. "What's yours?"_**

The older kid wiped his mouth off and smiled at him. "I'm Shotaro Kaneda, but you can just call me Kaneda."

****

* * *

Tetsuo's eyes snapped open, and he gasped for breath. Only then did he realize Myotismon was standing over him.

"It was reckless to bring her here without a vessel, you know." He said, sounding annoyed. "Remember, if you use your dark powers too much, it might cost you your heart."

Tetsuo was about to reply when a noise like an angry roar was heard in the distance. Myotismon's mouth turned up in a smirk.

"A castaway, no doubt. When we stole the Princess from his world, he came after us through sheer force of will. But no matter. He is no match for your power."

The teen gave him a confused look. "My…power?"

Myotismon nodded. "Indeed. The untapped power that lies dormant within you. It is time you awakened that power to realize your true potential!"

He raised one hand, and a dark aura surrounded it, before it leapt from his hand to surround Tetsuo. The teen smiled evilly, and anyone viewing this scene would probably be creeped out beyond belief.

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

1- This was hard to describe, so… yeah.

2- I don't remember what the Baddie crests look like, so I'll just go with this

3- Believe it or not, Johnny Young Bosch, the voice of Kaneda in the recent redubbing of _Akira_ just so happened to play a role on Power Rangers. (It's true! I checked!)

4- Like what happened waaay back in the Prologue. - Archivist Gijinka

5- My attempt to explain away this and make it fit with the basic story. Hell, the concept worked in **Tales of Symphonia**….

6-If you're wondering she's using some form of telepathy. Okay, okay, so I'm making it up, since I couldn't think of anything else!

7- Don't ask how they could drag Golem in. Just go with it.

8- Alright, alright, I_ know_ this is kinda lame; I just didn't have any ideas.

9- I don't really know what Moo's attacks are, so I'll make them up.

10- I'm not sure of the Pheonix's gender, so I'm just calling it a male. And, it speaks in a sort of telepathy, like Lugia in _Pokemon the Movie 2000_. If you want, you can imagine the Phoenix having Lugia's voice.

11- Okay, this is really lame, but I had writer's block and really wanted to finish the chapter.


	13. Chapter 12: Fun and Games with Bobobo

AN: I tried many, MANY different ideas before I settled on this one. I hope you like it.

If you don't, please don't say anything.

Oh, and I'll put in the parody of the Hercules cup, but I won't really get into detail about _most _of the battles. You'll see what I mean.

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Chapter 11: Fun and Games with Bobobo

On their way to Anime city, Kaneda stopped by Battle Coliseum in order to compete in the newest part of the tournament: The Goku Cup. The trio fought their way through battle after battle, clearing out waves of Heartless. Finally, they got to the last battle, where they found their final opponent waiting for them. And it was none other than…

"GOKU!"

The man smiled and waved. "Hey there? You ready to fight?"

"Y-yeah…but why are

Goku shrugged. "Yeah, it's part of the competition. But I'll go easy on you. Kikouha!" An energy blast shot out at them, and they jumped out of the way. The group rushed him, slashing and magicking, with Goku trying to block their attacks.

Ed rolled out of the way of an energy blast and shouted, "Lightning Strike!"

A bolt of lightening stuck down, faster than Goku could dodge. He then followed up with a 'Terra Burst' spell, then an 'Inferno Blast'.

Then Kaneda moved in and struck. After that, they all rushed him again, not letting him have a chance to attack. Finally, their opponent hit the wall, hard, and fell to the ground.

"Alright! We did it! Ed cheered. The other two started cheering, until Goku began to stir. He got up, wiping his brow.

Then he looked at them, and grinned. "Phew! That was a good match! Alright, you three have won the Goku Cup! Here," He threw a keychain that had an orange orb with a red star on it. "This is your prize."

Kaneda attached it to his Keyblade, and it became orange with a dragon wrapped around it., and a singled, red star emblazoned on it's hilt.

"The One-Star Dragonball…" Kaneda grinned. "Okay, back to Anime City!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon reaching their destination (along with a little Digimon they found at the coliseum named Chibomon), the group went to Rick's place with a new Power Block they found. At the shop, they found him at the counter.

"Hey," he called when he saw them enter. "What'cha got there?"

"Another Power Block," Ed explained. "Can you install it?"

"But of course."

As he left to put it in, Kaneda sighed and slumped against the wall.

"What's the matter?" Al asked him.

The teen looked up and said, "It's just, I don't know how much longer I can do this. And your Pharaoh is nowhere to be seen. Aren't you worried at all?"

"No. He told us to find the key bearer, and we found you." Ed replied. "If we stick together, we'll find him. Don't worry. Just believe in yourself."

"Believe in myself, huh?"

Kaneda shut his eyes, and he thought he heard Kei whispering, _"I believe in you…"_

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_Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Kaneda found himself in a small library. An elderly woman bustled about in the corner, dusting away._

"_Huh? Where am I?" _

"Grandma! Grandma!"

_Surprised, Kaneda spun around and saw a young girl in a white blouse and blue skirt come running in, smiling happily. Kaneda's jaw dropped as he recognized her._

"_Kei!"_

_Taking no notice of him, the girl just shouted, "Grandma! Tell me a story!" _

The old woman turned to face her and smiled. "Which one, dearie?"

"_The one about the darkness and the light!" _

"But haven't you heard that one already?"

The girl's eyes watered. "Please grandma…"

Finally, the old woman relented. "Alright, alright." She sat down in a nearby rocking chair, and the girl sat on the floor in front of her.

"_Long ago, people lived in peace, living in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light." The old woman said. _

"_But this didn't last long, did it?" asked the child._

_The old woman nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so. In time, people became greedy, and started to fight over it, wanting to keep it for themselves. And thus, darkness began to grow in their hearts. The darkness spread, covering everything, and the world disappeared." _

_However," she added, "Tiny fragments of the light survived in the hearts of children, and they used them to rebuild the world, the one we live in now. But for now, the true light sleeps within the darkness, waiting to be awakened. That's why the worlds are separated from each other. And someday soon, a door to the innermost darkness will be opened, and the true light will return."  
_

_She leaned down and said, "So listen closely, child, for even in the darkest places, a light will always shine to guide you. Believe in it, and the darkness will be pushed away. Do you understand, Kei?"  
_

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Kaneda sat up, gasping for breath.

"What's the matter?" Al said.

"Nothing. I'm fine, but I must've zoned out there."

As the others moved away, he whispered to himself, "Kei…were you… calling me…?"

Just then, Rick arrived, wiping on his hands. "There. The Power Block's been installed. But be careful, I hear Atlantis is practically crawling with Heartless."

"We will, don't worry."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

As they were walking through the streets, Kaneda stopped and said, "Wait, I just remembered I need to see Li about something. How about you guys drop of the Digimon at Togemon and Swanmon's place, and I'll meet you there, okay?"

Running in another direction, he yelled, "Don't leave without me, alright?"

Ed frowned. "But Kaneda…! Oh brother…" H e sighed.

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When Kaneda reached the place where Li, Skura and Kero were staying, he found that no one was there.

"Hellooo…is anyone there?" That's when he noticed the book Rick found lying on the table. It was open, showing that a lot of pages were torn out. That's when he had an idea. Taking out the torn pages he, Ed and Al had discovered scattered across the worlds, (1) he put them on the book, and watched in amazement as they fused to the book's spine.

"Woah…" suddenly, the book started glowing brightly until it completely obscured his vision… And then Kaneda was sucked into the book, showing no sign that he was ever there, save for the fact that the book was fixed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------  
**_World Name: Odd Earth (2)  
_**----------------------------------------------------------------------

When Kaneda could see again, he found himself in a sylvan glade, underneath a clear blue sky with birds chirping in the background.

"Huh? Where am I now?"

Just then, he heard someone talking in a hurried, hushed voice.

"Yes that's it… they'll never find it…"

Pushing back a tree branch, he saw a hunched figuring muttering under his breath, "Yeah, that's it, they'll never find it…"

"Excuse me…"

The figure started, but did not turn. "Who are you?"

"Uh… I just wanted to know where I am, and…"

Without warning the figure loomed at him, and he saw it was a tall, muscular man in a blue shirt, black pants, and brown shoes wearing sunglasses and having a VERY big yellow afro.

"ARE YOU HERE FOR MY TACOS?"

"Geeze! Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

The man stepped back, and sized him up. "Yep, uhhuh… you don't look like a sandwich thief to me."

"I thought you said it was tacos!"

"Humph. Hey Miss Gijinka!"

**What? I'm busy typing up this chapter and…waitaminute! You're not supposed to know that this is just a story!** (3)

"This kid doesn't know anything!"

"WHADDYA MEAN BY THAT!"

**Look, I'm trying to do this chapter as fast as I can, and don't need any distractions!**

"If I can interrupt…" Kaneda started.

**What? What is it?**

"Can we please get on with this?"

**Okay then, but no more interruptions, got it?**

"Got it."

"Sure."

**Alright, back to the story!**

Kaneda turned to the man and said, "Okay, so I'm Kaneda. What do they call you? Afroman?"

The man struck a dramatic pose, saying, "I am the defender of truth, justice, and hair! They call me Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo!" As he said, this, his name (in Kanji) appeared over his head. "Or, just Bobobo for short."

"I'm sorry I asked."

"Anyway, I was trying to hide my tacos from everyone, though I haven't seen them in a while."

"You mean they just vanished?"

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?"

"Uh…"

Just then, there was rustling in the bushes, and Kaneda thought he saw a glimpse of pink. "Excuse me for a second, will you?"

Bobobo seemed dejected. "Sure, leave me like everyone else… I'll just stay here…" He turned into an Easter-Island style moa, to prove what little point he had.

"Um…sure. You do that." Kaneda turned and ran through the foliage. _Sheesh! That guy was a total loon! I wonder if other people around here are as nuts…_

He slid to a halt when he saw another person in front of him. From what he could tell, it was a guy in jeans and a yellow and black jacket…with soft-served pink ice cream for a head.

"Hello little boy. Are you lost?"

"I'm not a kid!" Kaneda protested. "And I'm not lost. Got that Poop-head?"

"It's not poop! It's ice cream! And my name is Softon!"

"Sure, whatever." Kaneda turned away. "Anyhow, I'm looking for anyone one else around here. You see any?"

The man gave him a half smile. "Sure, but then I'd be spoiling the story, wouldn't I?"

_That_ got Kaneda's attention, and he spun around in surprise. "Huh?"

"That's right; I'm the only person in this book who knows it's that just a book. I think its better that way. After all, you have seen what Bobobo is capable of."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Good luck finding everyone." With that, Softon turned and walked off.

"Hey wait!" Kaneda attempted to follow him, but he vanished. "What's his deal…?"

Another rustling of leaves caught his attention, and he turned to see a bush shaking.

"Come on out, I won't hurt you."

A teenaged girl in a white vest over a red t-shirt and jeans emerged from the bush, picking leaves and twigs out of her pink hair.

"Oh good, I thought you were someone else. I'm Beauty by the way, and you are…"

"Kaneda, Shotaro Kaneda, actually, but I prefer my last name better." Suddenly, the ground began to crack beneath their feet. "Look out!" Kaneda grabbed the girl and they fell to the ground, then looked back to see… a Bobobo-shaped drilling machine.

"What's the big deal? I thought you were gonna stay behind!" Kaneda yelled at him.

"I just remembered I needed to do my laundry!" Suddenly, Bobobo was at an ironing board, ironing shirts as he was surrounded by clothing.

"Is he always like this?" Kaneda asked Beauty, sweatdropping.

"Unfortunately, yes." The girl answered; sweatdropping also.

"Hey! Look there!" Everyone looked to where Bobobo was pointing, and saw, in the crook of a tall tree… a rice ball?

"How the heck did a rice ball get up there!" Beauty shouted.

"Nevermind that, I have to get it!" Bobobo yelled, running towards the tree.

"Wait up!" Kaneda and Beauty ran after him… but stopped when the got there, and saw the tree was the size of a freakin' redwood! (4)

"How are you supposed to climb _that_?" yelled Kaneda.

"By jumping to the branches, of course." Bobobo answered. "But be warned, Riceballadactyls lurk here!"

The others blinked, noticing that rice balls with Pterodactyl heads and wings were indeed flying around.

"WHAT THE HECK!"

Bobobo didn't seem to hear them, as he faced the tree and shouted, "Fist of the Nose Hairs!" causing his, er…nose hairs… to stretch out and wrap along a branch, then pull himself up.

"Uh…did you just see what I did?" asked a very startled Kaneda.

"You should go with him, to make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

They turned to see Softon hanging out beside a tree.

"You again? Well, okay." Summoning his Keyblade, Kaneda started jumping from branch to branch, attacking the Riceballadactyls that came too close.

Meanwhile, Bobobo was half way up, using his nose hair like whips to fend off the rice ball/pterodactyl things. "SUPER SNOT 4 U!" He bellowed, taking out another winged fiend.

A few branches below, Kaneda was having a difficult time keeping up. "This is harder than it looks!" He panted. Then something shiny caught his eye. He looked into a tree hollow and saw a shiny blue and white stone. "Huh. Better save this for later." No sooner did he put it away, he hear shouts coming from above.

Hurriedly, Kaneda started jumping from branch to branch again, until he found Bobobo struggling with a particularly large Riceballadactyl. "Hold on! Inferno Blast!" The fireballs found their mark and sent the creature flying away, leaving Bobobo free to grab the rice ball.

Both of them managed to get to the ground safely, and Bobobo devoured the rice ball.

Beauty sighed. "Now that that's over with, can we…"

She blinked suddenly, realizing that Bobobo had gone and run off. "Not again…"

They all ran off after Bobobo, only to find him a few minutes later with his head stuck in the ground. Standing next to him was a white-haired boy wearing a white t-shirt underneath a black t-shit with a skull on the back

"About time you got here." The white-haired boy said.

"Gasser, what happened here?" Beauty asked him.

"Oh, Bobobo said something about a coin in the ground and dove in to get it."

"It was so pretty too…" Bobobo said, his muffled voice coming from the hole.

"Maybe we can pull him out." Beauty suggested. They all grabbed hold and pulled…but couldn't do it.

"Perhaps if we greased him up." Softon suggested.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by someone shouting. Kaneda had barely any time to look up before something slammed into him. Looking up, he saw an orange spiked ball standing on top of him, arms out like he'd just finished some Olympic move.

"TA-DAH! And the crowd goes wild!" he cheered.

"Great Don Patch, but you're standing on our friend." Gasser muttered, annoyed.

"Huh?" The orange thing looked down at Kaneda, saying, "What are you doing down there?"

"GET OFF ME!" Kaneda pushed himself up, sending Don Patch flying off into a tree.

"THAT WASN'T NICE!" He yelled.

"WELL YOU WERE THE ONE WHO JUMPED ON ME!" Kaneda yelled back.

"Knock it off you two!" Gasser shouted, pulling them apart. "We're trying to get Bobobo out!"

Don Patch got a sly expression on his face. "Then you'll be needing… this!" He held up a bottle of oil proudly.

"Where'd you find that?"

"There's an oil stand over there." Don Patch pointed over to where, sure enough, a guy was selling bottles of oil.

"THAT WASN'T THERE BEFORE!"

They looked down and saw Don Patch running away.

"Hey! You come back here!" Kaneda began chasing him all over the area, through bushes and up and down trees, until finally Kaneda struck Don Patch with his Keyblade, sending him crashing into a tree.

"Was that necessary?" Beauty asked.

"Well I didn't have much of a choice." Kaneda answered, as he took the bottle from Don Patch, and then turned to face Bobobo, unaware that the figure behind him was stirring…

"THAT'S IT! NO ONE HITS ME AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" Don Patch leapt at him, holding a… scallion? "GAAH! DON PATCH SWORD!"

Kaneda turned around, and quickly ducked as Don Patch sailed over his head and crashed into a rock.

"Will you stop goofing around and help us!" Gasser demanded.

So they all put the oil on Bobobo, and then pulled and pulled…until, finally, Bobobo popped free, wearing a mole mask.

"It's a lovely day for digging, isn't it?"

"I though you were stuck!"

"Oh yeah!" Bobobo pulled off his mask … and suddenly he was wearing a school girl's outfit.

"What's your problem! Are you stupid or something?" Kaneda yelled angrily.

Suddenly, Bobobo started crying in the typical anime fashion, with fountains of tears coming out of his eyes. Don Patch pulled an umbrella out of nowhere and held it up to block the rivers of tears.

"Hey, that wasn't nice!" Beauty scolded the older boy.

"Well he was out of control!"

"Dude, you'd better just apologize." Don Patch commented.

"Okay fine! Bobobo…I'm …sorry about what I said."

The man stopped crying instantly. "You mean it?"

"Yeah…" Without warning, Kaneda found himself in a tight embrace, courtesy of Bobobo.

"Oh thank you so much!"

"Hey let go of me! I said I was sorry already!"

"Hey, what's that?"

Kaneda looked down and blinked. There, floating on its back in nearby river; was a bluish Gumby-like thing.

"Hey Jelly Jiggler!" yelled Don Patch, "Watcha doin' down there?"

"Oh, hey! I was just

"Well come on up here!"

"I'll get him out." Kaneda said.

"No, let me!" Bobobo answered. "Super Fist of the Nose Hair!"

The nose hairs wrapped around Jelly Jiggler, picked him up, and threw him to the ground,

"Ow…" Jelly Jiggler got up and started dusting himself off. "Well that was…" He suddenly stopped and began checking his pockets (or whatever he had). "Oh no! Oh no!" Stuff went flying everywhere, everything from bottle caps to hats, but the main noticeable thing was that they all had the sign for 'Nu' on them.

"What's the matter?" Beauty asked worriedly. Jelly Jiggler faced her, tears coming from his eyes.

"My Lucky Handkerchief is missing! I can't find it anywhere!" He wailed.

"Relax. We'll find it." Kaneda said, right before he found himself in another hug."

"Ohthankyouthankyou!"

"Enough already! I've been hugged once today!" The teen yelled, pulling himself away from the overly grateful jelly-thing.

"Maybe we should look from high up?" Softon suggested.

Bobobo nodded. "Good idea! Let's see if we can't…ah ha!" Spotting a particularly thick tree branch that was somewhat high up, he yelled, "Fist of the Nose Hair!" and the aforementioned body part shot out and wrapped around the branch.

"Now get on." He told Kaneda.

"Uh…okay…"

The teen got on his back, and Bobobo began swinging back and forth.

"Wait! Are you sure this is safe?"

"Don't worry; I think I can handle it."

Up they went, and down again, back and forth, until Kaneda spotted something lying among the bushes. "There! I see it!"

"Huh?" Bobobo unwittingly let go of the branch, and Kaneda was sent sailing forward into the bushes.

"Ow… note to self: do not try that again." That's when he noticed the object lying on a branch. It was a white handkerchief with the 'Nu' symbol on it. "This must be what he's looking for…better take it back to him."

"Hey!" He looked up to see Jelly Jiggler running towards him. "Did'ja find it?"

Kaneda nodded. "Yeah. Here you go." He held out the object, and Jelly Jiggler took the handkerchief from and stared at it for a good long minute. Then he looked back at Kaneda, with his eyes shining and tears running from his eyes.

"OH THANK Y…"

He ran at the teenager, who put a foot in his face, saying, "Oh no, I've had enough hugs for one day." Jelly Jiggler fell backwards, a footprint imprinted where his face was.

The gelatin man got up and brushed himself off again. "Well, now that that's settled, I guess I'll be going." Then he turned to walk off.

"Hey, Jelly Jiggler…"

"Yeah?"

"Uh…what's with all the 'Nu' stuff?" Kaneda asked.

Jelly Jiggler just waved one 'hand' nonchalantly. "Oh, that's just my obsession! Like the authoress' obsession with that Orlando Bloom guy!" (5)

Suddenly, out of the blue, a bolt of lighting came down and zapped him.

**That was totally uncalled for and you know it!**

"Er…so you collect this stuff?" Kaneda asked, trying not to provoke the authoress.

"Exactly!"

"Uh…I think I'll be going now."

Then Kaneda ran off, and sometime later, he reached a forested spot, and sat down. "Finally! A place to just relax…"

"KAAANEEEDAAA!"

"…Or not…"

Don Patch rushed in, looking excited or angry, he couldn't tell. "Get out of my Wiggin' Spot!"

"Your _what_!"

"My Wiggin' Spot! You know, where I Wig Out! Watch!" He then started blathering on wildly and jumping about, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Try it! You'll like it!"

"Uh…okay." Kaneda gave a feeble yelp and jumped into the air. Don Patch shook his head.

"No, no! Like _this_!"

Sometime later, Kaneda managed to get it right.

"Yeah, yeah! I think you're getting the hang of it!" Don Patch beamed.

"You know, that _was_ fun." Kaneda said. "Thanks for the lesson."

"No problem. By the way, that's ¥160."

"WHAT! THAT'S BOGUS!"

"The lessons aren't cheap, ya know!"

"Okay fine!" Kaneda pulled out a few more bills and handed them over before stomping off.

"Thank you!"

"You're not welcome!"

Don Patch began counting the money, before he suddenly looked up and yelled, "HEY! YOU STIFFED ME ¥110!"

Kaneda ignored him and left. As he was walking, he saw Bobobo sneaking around, following a set of footprints.

"What are you doing?"

"Sssh! I'm tryin' to find the guys who took everyone away! We were gonna stick together, but I found some suspicious footprints, and when I followed them, everyone was gone!"

"Actually….oh never mind. I'll help you look."

Creeping through the underbrush, he spotted Jelly Jiggler, sitting by himself in a clearing.

"Oh hey," he said, looking up at Kaneda. "I lost all my Nu stuff."

"And you're just gonna sit around? Okay, I help you find your stuff. Just don't get all sappy on me like last time."

"Okay, okay…"

Kaneda stopped and looked around. "Hm… if you find anyone, tell them to come here and stay until I get back, got it?"

Sure that Jelly Jiggler would listen, Kaneda ran off through the brush. When he returned a half-hour later, with his arms full of stuff, he found everyone waiting for him.

"What took you so long!" demanded Jelly Jiggler, annoyed.

"Well what did you expect? I had to do this all by myself with no help from you!"

The two of them tried to get into each other's faces, but Softon pulled them apart, saying "Calm down already!"

"You know what? I'm so glad we're together again. I was kinda lonely all by myself." Beauty sighed.

"Come on! It wasn't that bad." Said Don Patch, who then added, "'Course, I was getting' kinda lonely too…"

Kaneda smiled. "Okay, I'm off?"

"Where are you goin?" Gasser asked him.

"To find my friends. I bet they're waiting for me."

"Okay! Come back soon!"

"I hope you find your friends!"

Bobobo nodded. "Come back again… so we can dance!" Suddenly, he was wearing a red ball gown and holding a pair of maracas.

"WHAT THE HECK?"

The teen gave them a half smile. "See ya." Then he turned and walked away, towards the portal that had just appeared…

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In the small house, Ed and Al entered, looking for Kaneda.

"It's been an hour," Ed said, frowning. "He should have returned by now…"

Right on cue, the book lying open on the table began glowing, and Kaneda fell out.

"Ow..."

"Hey Kaneda! Are you okay?" Al asked.

"Yeah, just peachy." The boy answered, getting to his feet.

At that moment, Li, Sakura and Kero entered. "Um…what are you all doing?"

"Uh, well, I wanted to ask you something," Kaneda said, putting a hand behind his head, "But uh…I got sucked into the book, and…oh!" He took out the Summon Stone, saying, "I found this in there."

Sakura grinned. "Let's see who's inside, shall we?" Pulling out her key, she announced, "The key that hides the forces of darkness! Show your true identity! RELEASE!"

There was a bright flash of light, and when it cleared, in the middle of the room stood a white and blue robotic figure wearing a blue cape with a red underside holding a shield. Its eyes slowly opened as it looked around nervously. "Uh…what…?"

"Hey there!" Kero told it. "You alright?"

The knight nodded. "Yes…but where am I?"

"This is Anime City." Li said, "Your world was lost, but you were able to survive because of your strong Heart. I am Li, and this is Sakura, Kero, Kanda, Ed and Al. And you are…?"

"Ah yes. I am Zero the Winged Knight of Lacroa, at your service." The knight said, bowing politely.

"So, Zero, think you can handle.

The knight saluted, saying, "Sure! You can call me any time! I'll do my best!" He vanished into the stone, and Kaneda took it.

"I guess we'll be going then."

"Alright. Good luck!" Sakura called after them.

As they left, Li asked Kaneda, "Wait, why did you come here in the first place?"

Kaneda paused. "Well I wanted to ask you something…" The teen's face curled quickly into a frown.

"Damn! I forgot what it was!" (6)

_**To be continued…**_

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So, what did you think? Not exactly my best work, (I can't help but think I pulled it put of my you-know-what) yet I tried to fit various running gags from the show at least once. If I didn't make any sense, remember: That's pretty much how Bobobo-Bobobobo runs: total insanity.

1-Even if I never mentioned them… (sweatdrops)

2- I couldn't find the exact name/date, so I'm calling it this. Anyone who's seen this show will understand why I chose to call it this.

3- Fun with the fourth wall! Since they do it on the show, I figure I can get away with it here. And since it's rather silly and random, it sorta fits in.

4- I've seen redwood trees before, and they're pretty darn big.

5- What can I say? I'm a fan girl.

6- That's because I couldn't think of anything. (sweatdrops again.)


	14. Chapter 13: Into the Lion's Den

Author's Note: Okay, if you're all wondering, I'm working on the last few chapters, I really am, but I keep running into snags. So please amuse yourselves with this chapter rewrite until I am finished.

* * *

Chapter 12: Into the Lion's Den

Atlantis was made up of a large city floating in the center of a great, story ocean. Overhead, dark clouds churned fiercely as lighting bolts sliced through the black sky, followed by a booming clap of thunder. And yet, Kaneda, Ed and Al were flying towards the darkened city-island, in hopes of finding Kei.

"That's really weird…I feel like I've been here before." Kaneda muttered, "And….I feel warm inside…right…here." He put one hand over his heart as he said this.

"Look, if you're gonna throw up, do it out the window." Ed said, pointing.

"I'm not kidding!" Kaneda protested. "I really do feel this way."

"We're coming in for a landing!" Al announced.

Kaneda nodded. "Alright, let's get going."

* * *

The ship landed on the stone path, sending up a cloud of dust. Then the trio cautiously stepped out and looked around, noting that they the city looked like no one had lived there for a very long time. 

There were also tall pillars with serpents winding around them, their lifeless stone eyes glaring at the three intruders.

"What's with the snake motif?" Ed asked.

"I dunno. It's kinda creepy." Al commented, glancing about nervously.

Kaneda paused. "Wait. Did you hear that?"

They all stopped, and sure enough, there were sounds of battle coming from somewhere over a hill.

"Over there!" Kaneda shouted, and they all ran off, completely unaware of what they would find….

* * *

Meanwhile, Tetsuo was facing a very unusual-looking young man. He had long white hair, gold eyes, fangs, claws, and dog ears. And he wore a big red shirt, matching pants, and prayer beads. Clutched in one hand was a powerful-looking sword. 

"I don't understand," Tetsuo said, frowning. "How did you get here?"

"I just believed," the dog-eared man answered, baring his sharp teeth. "When my world fell to the darkness, Kagome was taken away. I wanted to find her no matter what happened. If she's here, THEN I WANT HER BACK!"

With a feral, he rushed at Tetsuo, who simply stepped aside and struck him on the back of the neck, sending his opponent to the ground.

"Pathetic." He sneered.

"Tetsuo!" He suddenly turned as Kaneda and the Elrics brothers ran into the area, and smirked nastily.

"It's about time you got here, Kaneda. We've always been rivals, right? You've always pushed me, thinking you were better than I was. But it all ends here. There can only be one Keyblade master, after all."

This caught Kaneda by surprise. "Tetsuo? What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

But the other teen ignored him and continued, "Let the Keyblade…choose who its real master is."

Suddenly, the weapon in Kaneda's hands began to vibrate wildly. He tried to hold on to it, but it suddenly vanished… and reappeared in Tetsuo's hand!

"WHAT?!"

Tetsuo smirked. "Myotismon was right. You don't have what it takes to save Kei. Only the master of the Keyblade can open the secret door, and change everything!"

Shocked and confused, Kaneda fell to his knees. "But…but how? _I'm_ the one who fought my way here!"

"Oh, please. You're just the delivery boy." Tetsuo answered coldly. "Your part's over now…and mine's just getting started!" Then he turned and walked off, soon disappearing into the shadows.

Ed nudged his brother. "Al, remember what the Pharaoh told us!"

"Yeah but…"

The blond-haired boy then turned to face the distraught former master of the Keyblade. "Kaneda…we're really sorry."

And with that, he ran off after Tetsuo. Al gave the teen a single, sad glance before following his brother; leaving Kaneda all along, save for the unconscious dog-eared person beside him.

Kaneda dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands, his mind clouded by dark thoughts. _I…I can't believe it!_ _Why is Tetsuo the Keyblade Master?! It's not fair!!!_

"You're not gonna let this stop you, right?"

Surprised, Kaneda looked up to see Moro, Plue, Squirtle, Zero and the Phoenix looking down at him worried. (1)

"Huh? I didn't summon you…"

"That's not important now." Zero told him. "What's important is that you find your friend!"

"But how can I do that?" Kaneda asked sadly. "I don't have the Keyblade anymore!"

"**Silly boy. Your heart helped you through the dangers you faced, not just the Keyblade."** The Phoenix said. "**You have a strong heart and a powerful will, and that's what truly matters."**

"And besides, I don't like that other boy." Moro growled. "It's not right that he should have the Keyblade while you don't."

Plue and Squirtle went to his side and nudged him lightly.

"Puun puun…"

"Squirtle Squirtle!"

Kaneda smiled. "Yeah… you're right. I'm not gonna let this one setback stop me from finding Kei!"

The summons all cheered, and then disappeared back into their stones. Kaneda walked over to the dog-eared person and kneeled beside him.

"Don't move, you're really hurt. Heal Pulse." A white aura surrounded the figure, and then vanished. Kaneda then helped him stand up.

"Humph. Thanks, I guess." The other person said. "Why are you here? I only came to this place to rescue my friend. I know I shouldn't care about a human like her, but…" he shook his head. "Never mind. They call me Inuyasha, by the way. Who are you?"

Kaneda grinned. "I'm Kaneda, and I came here for pretty much the same reason you did. I don't think I can save my friend by myself. Maybe we could work together…"

"Fine, just don't get in my way."

* * *

The unlikely pair made their way through the abandoned city, fighting off any Heartless that came their way. Of course, Kaneda didn't have the Keyblade anymore, so he had to rely on magic and summons in order to protect himself. 

The city itself was like a great maze, which made it difficult to know where they were going. Inuyasha proved to be a great help, since he could use his superhuman strength to knock down walls. Soon, they located a big switch, as well as a yellow creature with a purple-ringed tail named Nyaromon.

"Wonder what this does?" Kaneda pulled the switch, and there was a humming noise as the power started up.

The pair then walked back through the labyrinth of buildings to climb on a floating platform that took them to a higher point. They then took a few more platforms up to a barred gate.

"Great. _Now _what do we do?"

Kaneda then spotted a bunch of switches. "Maybe if we press these in the right order…"

After several tries, they got the doors open, and hurried through.

"So, Inuyasha, just what's your deal, anyway?" Kaneda asked.

"Well, if you must know, my father was a powerful Demon Lord, but my mother was a human. Why would you care?"

"Sheesh, I was just asking a question."

* * *

Somewhere else, Myotismon looked over the Princesses of Heart. 

Other than Chihiro and Ellie, there was a girl in a green and white school uniform (Kagome), a young woman in a red outfit with a yellow scarf (Francoise), a girl with red hair in a ponytail (Misty), and a brown haired girl in pink and white (Kari). Kei wasn't with them; instead, she was lying behind Myotismon in a purple capsule-shaped barrier.

Raising his hands in the air, Myotismon shouted, "O purest of hearts! Reveal to me the Keyhole!"

The six girl's bodies started glowing and beams of light shot out…

* * *

At the same time, Kaneda and Inuyasha stepped through the threshold of the temple, looking around in case of an attack. 

"Remember, be ready for anything." Inuyasha told Kaneda. Suddenly, he stopped as a dark haired girl appeared. "Kagome?"

The girl's figure suddenly shifted and shrank until it was nothing but a Shadow, which hurried off. "Why you…! Get back here!" Inuyasha roared, running after it.

"Inuyasha! Wait!" Kaneda yelled, following him.

* * *

The half-demon charged blindly through the halls, not noticing where he was going until he ran into a large room where Tetsuo, Ed and Al were. Inuyasha took one look at the dark-haired teenager and leapt at him….suddenly, walls of dark energy sprung up around him, and suddenly retracted into the floor, taking Inuyasha with them. (2) 

"Heh. That lovesick loser never stood a chance." Tetsuo smirked. The Elric brothers said nothing, just watched sadly. At that moment, Kaneda rushed in, breathing heavily.

Tetsuo's eyes widened. "You! What are you doing here!?" He snapped.

"What I set out to do in the first place." Kaneda replied calmly. "And that's to find Kei."

"Humph. The darkness will destroy you." Tetsuo said coldly. He snapped his fingers, and he was suddenly wearing a long-sleeved dark blue shirt with a black heart outlined in red on it, black pants, and black boots.

Kaneda shook his head, saying, "You've got it all wrong! The darkness may destroy my body, but it won't get my heart! It won't die if it's with my friends!"

"Well, we'll just see about THAT!" Tetsuo held up on hand and sent out an orb of dark energy. Kaneda froze, suddenly unable to move as the energy ball got closer and closer…

CLANG!

Al suddenly jumped in front of Kaneda and blocked the attack with his shield.

"What?! You would dare betray your Pharaoh?!" Tetsuo hissed venomously.

Al just shook his head, saying. "No. But I'm not gonna betray Kaneda either, not after all we've been through together!" Looking at Ed, he said, "Nii-chan, could you tell the Pharaoh I'm really sorry?"

But the teen ran to his side, saying, "No Al, we'll tell him together!"

Kaneda blinked. "Really?"

"Of course" Ed grinned. "All for one and one for all, remember?"

The older boy gave them a half-smile. "Thanks Ed…Al…"

"And how do you expect to fight? You don't have a weapon!" Tetsuo sneered.

Kaneda stood straight and answered, "I realize now that I don't need the Keyblade, as long as I have my heart!"

Tetsuo just laughed. "Your heart? What can that pathetic thing do for you?"

"Even if my heart is weak, it's not alone. It's grown with every new experience, and found a home with every new friend I've made! I'm a part of their hearts like they're a part of mine." Readying his fists, he added, "My friends are my power!"

At that moment, the Keyblade started to glow as it vanished out of Tetsuo's hands and reappeared in front of Kaneda, who grabbed it and pointed the blade at his former friend.

"Now, in the words of the great Mills Lane, LET'S GET IT ON!" (3) Ed and Al stared at him, and Kaneda sweatdropped. "Oh, right. Let's just fight anyway."

They ran at Tetsuo, who threw dark energy orbs at them. Ed batted them away, while Al blocked again. Kaneda leapt forward, slashing away, before Tetsuo let loose dark energy waves, forcing them to either jump or duck, depending on the wave. The heroes retorted with various spells, pummeling him fiercely.

"Artic Freeze!" Kaneda's spell covered his opponent's torso, but he broke free.

"Did you _really _expect that to work?" Tetsuo sneered.

Kaneda just grinned. "Actually, it was more of a distraction. NOW GUYS!"

Ed and Al jumped forward, striking him with everything they had. Finally, Tetsuo fell back, his clothing suddenly returning to normal. "Damnit Kaneda!" He swore, shaking a fist. "You'll pay for this!" And then he ran off.

"Tetsuo…!" Kaneda tried to run after him, but his ex-friend had already vanished.

Just then, they heard a thudding noise coming from beneath the floor, like someone was pounding on it.

"Ah! I forgot about Inuyasha!" Kaneda looked around, and saw a button. He pressed it, and turned to watch as the cage rose out of the floor. The walls fell down, and Inuyasha tumbled out.

"Huh? What?"

"It's okay, the fight's over."

Inuyasha frowned. "Damn. I wanted to get him…" he stood up, and looked around. "So…you used your heart to win this battle, right?" Kaneda nodded. "Thought so."

He turned to walk away, but Al stopped him. "Wait. Maybe we could you use your help."

"Yeah, come on." Kaneda added. "I've seen what you can do. And anyway, were' still trying to find our friends, right?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Fine. I'll stick with you a little longer."

* * *

Meanwhile, Tetsuo was running, his head hanging down. "I just don't get it! The Keyblade was all mine…" 

"Know this…"

Tetsuo slid to a halt and looked up. In front of him was a cloaked figure. "A heart that is strong and true will get the Keyblade."

"What? Are you saying that my heart's weaker than Kaneda's?"

"For that one instant, it was," the Hooded Man answered. "But you can get stronger. You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness. Go deeper into the darkness, and you heart will become stronger."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Simple, really. Open yourself to the darkness, and let you heart become darkness itself."

Tetsuo though for a moment, then smiled. "Okay, then. I'll do it." He closed his eyes as a huge blast of dark energy hit him… and then everything went black.

* * *

Meanwhile the group was still looking for Kei, Kagome and the others. But it wasn't easy. 

First, they had to put books in the library back in certain places, cast Lightning Strike on a machine to activate platforms, collect pieces of an emblem to unlock a door, and of course, fight lots of Heartless. They also found a floating fireball called DemiMeramon.

"Phew! I'll be glad when this is all over." Kaneda sighed.

* * *

Somewhere else, Tetsuo and Myotismon were looking at the Princesses. 

"The path has emerged at last." Tetsuo said. However, his voice was different, like someone or something else was speaking for him.

"Yes. The Keyhole to the darkness is almost ready." Myotismon said, nodding.

"If it is unlocked, the Heartless will completely overrun this world." Tetsuo said.

"Why does it bother me? Darkness has no control over me. I will use it to rule everything." Myotismon scoffed.

"Such confidence." Tetsuo smirked. He then pulled out what looked to be a black, red and gray Keyblade with a curled metal heart shape at the end.

Myotismon's eyes widened at the sight of it, and then turned to face Kei's body. "She must be the last princess!"

"Apparently so." Tetsuo commented. "But without her heart, the door cannot be opened."

Then Myotismon turned around, frowning. "Humph. The Pharaoh's lackeys have arrived. I'll deal with them while you look after the Princesses." And with that, he vanished.

* * *

When Kaneda and co. entered the Chapel area, they found Myotismon waiting for them. 

"You're too late." He smirked. "Any minute now, the Keyhole will be unsealed, and darkness will spread across this world! Nothing you do can stop it!"

Kaneda readied his Keyblade, saying,"Oh yeah? We can try!"

Mytoismon smirked, leaping into the air and screaming,"Foolish mortals! Do you think you can stop me?!" Out of nowhere, a whip of red energy appeared, and he struck at them, yelling, "Crimson Lighting!"

The all jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding the attack.

"Wind Scar!" Inuyasha waved his sword and a blade of energy shot out, slicing into the vampire Digimon.

"Why you…Crimson Lighting!" The whip struck again, knocking Inuyasha to the ground. The vampires Digimon walked towards his fallen victim, fangs bared.

"Leave him alone! Inferno Blast!" Ed launched fireballs at Mytoismon, who blocked them with his cape.

"Nice try, but you can do better that that!"

"Okay, how about this then? Terra Burst!" A large black energy orb from Kaneda's hands caught Myotismon off guard, sending him crashing into the wall.

Meanwhile, Ed was helping Inuyasha to his feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just fine."

Just then, they noticed Myotismon getting up, glaring at them. "I grow tired of this little game. GRIZZLY WING!" He outstretched his cape, and hundreds upon hundreds of bats few out towards them…but Al got in front of them and took the blow himself. (4)

"Al!"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" He yelled back. "Just get Myotismon!"

The others rushed out from behind Al, each giving the evil Digimon a fierce slash. Finally, Kaneda delivered the final blow.

Myotismon staggered back, one hand over the wound. "You haven't seen the last of me!" He raised his other hand and created a portal that he escaped through.

"After him!" The group ran through the portal after him, but not before grabbing a folder with "DARTZ'S REPORT # 5" written on the front.

* * *

The gravely injured Myotismon limped though the hallways, bits of data falling from his body. "I don't understand! How could I loose!?" 

"Need some help?" He turned to see Tetsuo leaning against a pillar, arms crossed over his chest. At that moment, Kaneda, Ed, Al and Inuyasha rushed in, oly to slide to a halt.

Ed gulped. "Wait. Is that a…"

"Yes, it is." Tetsuo's new voice made the hairs on the back of Kaneda's neck stand on end. "However, _my_ Keyblade can unlock the darkness in people's hearts!"

"You're crazy!" Inuyasha shouted angrily.

Tetsuo only smirked. "Am I? How about a demonstration?" And with that, he rammed his dark weapon into Myotismon's chest.

"What are you…?!"

"Now, open your heart and become darkness itself!" Tetsuo announced. He pulled ihis weapon out, and stepped back as a dark aura surrounded Myotismon, who began to laugh evilly.

"AHAHAHA! Now this is true power!"

Dark energy tendrils coalesced around his form, creating a huge dark orb. When it cleared away, they saw that Myotismon was now almost as tall as a skyscraper, and had a red-armored torso and extremely long arms that ended in wicked-looking claws. His lower body and legs were covered in black fur with white stripes, and he had huge white clawed feet. He also had long blond hair with two long horns emerging from his skull. Enormous, tattered-looking red and black wings flapped slowly and behind him, a large rat-like tail whipped to and fro. Now known as VenomMyotismon, he reared back and roared so loudly, it shook the very ground they stood on.

"It's _never_ easy, is it?" Ed muttered as he sweatdropped nervously.

"Good luck." Tetsuo murmured, and then disappeared.

"Tetsuo, wait!" Kaneda shouted, but Inuyasha stopped him.

"Forget him! Let's take care of this guy first!"

Kaneda grinned. "Right. But first…" He took out the blue and white stone, chanting, "Knight of Magics, I summon you! Come forth, Zero the Winged Knight!"

The aforementioned knight appeared in a flash of light, saying, "How can I be of assistance?"

"We need you to help us with that!" Kaneda told him, pointing to the giant monster in front of them. Zero gulped and sweatdropped.

"I don't know…"

"Come on! You gotta help!"

Zero nodded. "A-alright then." He pulled a sword from out behind his shield, raised it in the air, and started chanting something. Suddenly, the group found themselves floating!

"There. That might help." Zero explained. "I also boosted your magic a bit."

Kaneda nodded, even as Zero faded away. "Thanks Zero." Turning to the others, he shouted, "Okay guys, let's go!"

Gracefully, they flew upwards, towards the monster's face. VenomMyotismon responded by shooting rainbow-colored beams from his eyes. They dodged them and continued upwards toward his face.

"Take THIS!" Ed slashed at the creature's face, creating a rip in the skin. From behind the rip came tentacles that wrapped around him.

"Oh no you don't!" Inuyasha brought his blade down on the tentacles, severing them, and allowing Ed to get free.

"Thanks!"

Inuyasha nodded. "There. That makes us even."

VenomMyotismon swatted at them like flies, and they tried to dodge his huge hands, all the while striking out with various attacks and spells.

"It's not working!" Kaneda yelled. "He has to have a weak point!"

"Then let's find one!" Ed shouted. "Lighting Strike!" Again, nothing happened.

"Maybe we should hit him where it hurts! Hiyah!" Inuyasha slashed at VenomMyotismon's lower torso region, creating a large opening. And out of the opening appeared an ugly-looking bluish-colored mask-wearing thing that snarled at them. (5)

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Ed screamed.

Kaneda smirked. "A weak point! Follow my lead!"

They flew downwards, and the giant monster, sensing what they were planning, shot out rainbow-colored eye beams. One caught Inuyasha and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Keep moving!" Kaneda warned, as they dodged the beams.

Down below, Inuyasha slowly got up. "That's it! Now I'm mad!" He quickly shot up and joined the others.

"Glad you could join us." Kaneda said with a grin. "Now let's get him!"

Al was first, chucking his shield at the creature's mouth, effectively shutting it up. Then Inuyasha began glowing, as he yelled, "Backlash Wave!" and struck at the creature.

"Inferno Blast!"

"Terra Burst!"

Combined with Kaneda and Ed's spells, VenomMyotismon began writing in agony as his body dissolved into nothing, leaving behind nothing but his crimson mask and a small orange-red stone. The group landed on the ground, and looked towards the evil Digimon's sole remains.

Suddenly, Tetsuo appeared, with an evil look on his face. "How pathetic. He was just another puppet all along."

"What?"

Tetsuo kicked Myotismon's mask away, saying, "The Heartless were using him, and he failed to notice the darkness in his heart eating away it him. A fitting end for such a fool like that."

Then he vanished again, but as he did, Kaneda noticed the stone on the floor. "Huh? What's this?" He picked it up and examined it.

"Must be another Summon Gem." Al said.

"Yeah." Kaneda said, nodding. "Better take it with us."

* * *

They continued through the hallways, (and locating Tsunomon, a horned orange ball), until they entered the Great Hall (6) where they found the Princesses, including… 

"Kei!"

Breathlessly, Kaneda ran to her side, with the others following. Inuyasha, however, seemed more interested in Kagome's motionless body.

"Kei! Wake up! It's me! Kaneda!" He yelled, shaking her.

"She won't awaken."

Startled, the teen looked up to see a figure standing in front of him, dark Keyblade in hand. The person looked like an awful lot like Tetsuo, but….

"Wait a second! You're not Tetsuo!" Kaneda shouted.

The person's eyes narrowed. "Very perceptive, Keyblade Master. But no matter. The girl has lost her heart, and the Keyhole cannot be finished without her."

Kaneda blinked. "Are you saying that Kei's a Princess?"

'Tetsuo' nodded, as he levitated in the air saying, "Yes, but her power is still needed to open the Keyhole."

Angrily, Kaneda jumped to his feet and shouted, "Well, whoever you are, give Tetsuo his heart back!"

"First, you must give the Princess hers."

Kaneda didn't know what he meant until he felt a sudden pain in his chest that forced him to his knees. "W-what…?"

"Don't you understand? The Princess' heart is responding, for her heart is alongside yours. It's ironic that you spent so long looking for her, when she was with you all this time!"

"Then…then Kei's heart…is in me?" Kaneda managed to gasp out.

"Yes. I know everything there is to know about." 'Tetsuo' said smugly.

Kaneda glared at him. "Just who are you anyway?! I have a right to know!"

The figure just regarded him coldly. "Very well then. I am known as Dartz, seeker of Darkness."

The response took their breath away. Dartz, the man who had done so much for his home world, was responsible for the Heartless? Ed, Al, and Inuyasha tried to rush him, but he raised one hand and sent them all flying backwards.

Turning to Kaneda, he said, "It is time to release the final Princess' heart and complete the Keyhole, opening the door to eternal darkness!" He raised the dark Keyblade over the motionless teen's head, preparing to strike…

"_Kaneda!"_

The boy suddenly got up, blocking the attack with his own weapon. "Forget it! There's no way I'm letting you take Kei's heart!" He swung the Keyblade upwards, and slashed at Tetsuo/Dartz repeatedly. The man raised his hand again, and an energy blast threw him to the floor.

His opponent then unleashed a storm of greenish-yellow comets at him, forcing him to roll out of the way. Getting to his feet, he ran forward and yelled, "Power Barrier!" This resulted in a shield that would protect him from the comets.

He ran forward and gave Tetsuo/Dartz a few more slashes until he teleported away, unleashing another energy blast. Kaneda got of out the way this time, and rushed at Tetsuo/Dartz, who tried blocking. They fought this way for a bit, before Tetsuo/Dartz kicked him away, and threw more comets at him.

This time, Kaneda shouted, "Chrono Halt!" and made the comets slow down before he slashed at them, sending them backwards at Tetsuo/Dartz. While his opponent was stunned, Kaneda struck at him with his Keyblade.

At last, Tetsuo/Dartz stepped back, frowning. "Humph. You may have won this round, Shotaro Kaneda, but I will be back!" He vanished into thin air, leaving his Keyblade behind. Kaneda just stood there, breathing heavily.

"Kaneda! Look!"

The boy turned and saw the Keyhole, a glowing, heart-shaped portal, in front of him. "Oh yeah! Time to close it!" he pointed the Keyblade at it…but nothing happened. "What?!"

"This is not good!" Al said, worried. "The Keyhole isn't finished yet!"

Kaneda put a hand under his chin. "Yeah…we have to wake up Kei…but how…?" Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the dark Keyblade lying abandoned on the ground. "I wonder…"

As he walked over to it, the others started in surprise.

"Kaneda? Y-you're not gonna do what I think you are…" Al asked nervously.

The teen ignored him, and lifted the Keyblade so that the point faced his heart.

"Wait, Kaneda! There has to be another way!" Ed shouted.

You know perfectly well there's no alternative." Kaneda said calmly. "I have to do this. For Kei and for everyone else too." He smiled at them and added, "See you on the other side." And with that, he drove the weapon straight into his own heart, gasping in pain as he did so…

Suddenly, there was a burst of light, as the seven Princesses got their hearts back. Kei sat up, holding her forehead. "W-where am I? What happened…?"

"Kaneda!"

Startled by Ed's shout, the girl looked up to see Kaneda's body falling towards her, glowing like a Christmas light. "Oh no! Kaneda!"

She ran forward to grab his body, but it vanished before she could get it. The distraught girl fell to her knees, shouting, "Kaneda! Come back! Please!"

* * *

Somewhere in a dark void that seemed to go on for miles, the boy who had once been known as Shotaro Kaneda fell into its dark depths. 

"**_What…what's happening to me…? …I'm falling…into the darkness…"_**

As he fell further and further into the dark void, his memories of himself, his home world, his friends, everything began fading away…

* * *

Back in the Great Hall of the Atlantian temple, Kei, Ed, Al, and Inuyasha could only look at the spot where Kaneda had been, unable to say anything. 

"N-no! He-he can't be gone!" Kei sobbed. "I can't believe it… I won't…"

Ed gulped hoarsely. "He's gone…just like that…"

Just then, a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows, and they all looked up in surprise. The figured lowered his hood, revealing teal hair, and mismatched eyes, one teal, like his hair, and the older gold.

"So…you have finally awakened. The Keyhole is complete, but I'm afraid I don't need you anymore." The others jumped in front of Kei, their weapons raised.

"Do you think we can stop him?" Al asked nervously.

"I dunno, but we have to try!" Ed answered.

Dartz stepped forward…and began shaking uncontrollably. "Impossible…"

An image of Tetsuo suddenly appeared, glaring daggers at Dartz. "Forget it you creep! You're not using me for this!"

"Tetsuo!" Kei shouted.

The boy turned to look at her. "Kei, you have to make a run for it! The Heartless are coming!"

"But…" Ed tugged at her sleeve.

"Come on, let's go!"

Kei nodded sadly, and, quickly grabbing Kaneda's fallen weapon, hurried off.

Dartz frowned, watching them go. "I'm surprised you were even able to fight back." He said to Tetsuo's spirit disdainfully. "But that won't help you. Go back to the darkness where you belong."

* * *

Somewhere else, a lone Shadow wandered through the hallways, looking around curiously. Suddenly, its antenna twitched as they picked up voices coming from far off. 

Something about them was familiar…

Wordlessly, the Shadow ran off in search of the voices.

* * *

Ed, Al, Inuyasha and Kei tore through the halls, trying to avoid the Heartless. 

"What about the Keyhole? And the other Princesses?" Al asked.

"There's no time! We have to keeping moving!" Ed answered.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder and blinked. "There's a Heartless following us!" He shouted.

"I'll handle this!" Ed slid to a halt and turned to attack the approaching Shadow. He swiped wildly, but the Heartless dodged about. "Damnit! Keep still!"

The creature said nothing, but stepped back and cocked its head to one side. Kei stepped forward, eyes wide open. "Kaneda…is that…is that…you...?" she whispered.

The other's jaws dropped. "W-w-what!?" Ed gasped. "That's not…it can't be…" he trailed off, not sure of what to say.

"Uh…I think we have a bigger problem." Al said nervously.

They all looked up to see that they were surrounded by Heartless! The boys quickly got into battle positions, but Kei, taking Kaneda in her arms, whispered, "This time…I'll protect you." She closed her eyes, and a huge wave of white light burst out, obliterating all the Heartless around them.

Opening her eyes, Kei looked down, and was startled to see a fully human Kaneda with his arms wrapped around her waist. Slowly, his eyes opened, like he was waking from a bad dream. When he saw her, he smiled and whispered, "Kei…thank you…"

Kaneda was started out of his revere by the sounds of more arriving Heartless. Inuyasha pulled out his sword, saying, "Go! I'll hold them off!"

"But Inuyasha…"

"I told you before; I'm not leaving without Kagome! Now go!"

Kaneda nodded. "Okay, let's get out of here!"

They all gave Inuyasha one final glance as they ran back towards the ship, to their escape.

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

1-Yes, I know this has idea been done many, many times before, but I really like it, so I'm using it anyway. The original concept belongs to whoever thought it up first. 

2- I'm making parts of it up as I go, okay?

3-To me, Kaneda looks like the kind of guy who'd like Celebrity Deathmatch.

4- Like in that one episode of Digimon (season one) when Wizardmon did the same thing….only he wasn't so lucky…

5-Taken from the battle with VenomMyotismon (also season one).

6- Let's just pretend there was no barrier there, shall we?


	15. Chapter 14: Tying Up Loose Ends

AN: Gomen nasi minna-san. I'm really, really, REALLY sorry this took so long; but I had a _**/SERIOUSLY/ **_bad case of writer's block. (sweatdrops)

Anyway, this chapter will have all the extra battles and stuff, like the last important coliseum matches.

* * *

Ch. 13: Tying Up Loose Ends

* * *

As soon as they all arrived in Anime City, they were greeted by Gene, Melfina, Aisha and Jim.

"What happened out there?" Gene demanded. Then he blinked, noticing Kei standing next to Kaneda. "And who's this?"

"Well, trust me on this; it's kind of a long story…"

* * *

Later, everyone sat inside Gene's house, listening as Kaneda finished up his tale.

"….So that's it huh?"

Kaneda nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"If the darkness is flowing out of the Keyhole… then that's why there's so many Heartless!" Melfina sounded worried by this prospect.

"So I gotta seal the Keyhole, right?"

"Maybe, but we don't know what'll happen when it's sealed."

"But we can't just sit around and do nothing!" Kaneda shouted, standing up. "We have to do something! Besides, a friend of mine still needs help!"

"Kaneda…" Kei tugged at his sleeve nervously.

"Oh right, you still have Tetsuo to worry about." Jim said. He paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Okay, so Tetsuo's Keyblade was created from the hearts of the captured princesses, like the Keyhole, which wasn't complete without your friend Kei's heart." (Here he nodded in the girl's direction.) When the Keyhole was destroyed, the Princesses' hearts should have been freed. But don't worry. I bet you can save your friend."

"Thanks." Kaneda grinned. Looking at Ed and Al, he said, "Looks like we gotta go back to Atlantis."

Kei stood up. "I'll go with you…"

Kaneda raised a hand in protest. "NO, Kei."

"But…"

The boy put hands on her shoulders and looked right into her eyes, saying, "I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. I already lost you once, and I won't lose you again!"

In the silence that followed, a few sniggers could be heard.

"And wipe those silly grins off your faces!"

* * *

At Rick's shop, they found him at the counter, as usual.

"Rick, we have to go back to Atlantis, it's the only way to stop the Heartless."

"No can do, there's already _way _too many Heartless there, and they'd destroy your ship."

"So what, we just stand around and let the Heartless win?!" Ed shouted angrily.

Rick grinned. "Actually, I was planning on going _around_ them instead of through them. Just install a new navigational Power Block."

"Where do we get it?" Al asked.

"Oh, I put one in a secret spot behind a big mural. It's near the center of town." (1)

* * *

Kaneda's group went down to the town square and found the mural Rick was talking about. It featured an image of a light blue moon inside a yellow sun surrounded by stars on an azure field.

"Wow. This is pretty."

"But where's the Power Block?"

Kaneda looked up… and saw a different-colored spot in the center of the sun. "I wonder…"

He reached up to touch the spot (it wasn't very high over their heads) and there was a bright light and a Power Block appeared in his hands.

"Huh, that was easy."

* * *

They also stopped by Li, Sakura and Kero's place, to show them the new Summon Gem.

"Another one, huh? Well, here we go!" Sakura pulled out her key and prepared to unlock it. "The key that hides the forces of darkness! Show your true identity! RELEASE!"

After a flash of light, they saw an unusual creature standing before them. It had tanned skin as well as white markings with two under its eyes (one for each) and another one on its chest. It also had long orange-red hair with two stubby horns sticking out, along with pointed ears that had small hoop earrings on them. It wore red pants, and had red rings around its feet, red shoulder pads, a belt with a weird symbol on it and red gloves. Sticking out behind it was a tail that resembled a small flame.

Two emerald-colored eyes flickered nervously. "Uh… wha…"

"It's okay, you're safe now." Sakura told him gently.

"Do you have a name?" Kero asked.

The creature looked down sadly. "… Flamon. Just Flamon." (2)

"Okay Flamon, wanna help us stop the Heartless?"

Flamon looked up at them and smiled slightly. "Okay… sure. Why not? It's not like I have any other place to go..."

* * *

Heading back, Kaneda spotted sitting by herself in the park.

"Hey, can you guys take this back to Rick's?"

"Uh sure. But what are you…"

"Don't worry! I'll meet up with you later!"

* * *

Kei sat with her legs drawn up against her chest, staring sullenly at the ground.

"A light at the end of the tunnel…"

"Like the story, right?"

The girl looked up as Kaneda sat down beside her. She nodded, "Yeah, when we were together."

Kaneda put his hands behind his head and lay back on the grass. "Know what's funny? I spend all my time looking for you, but you were with me all along. Now we're together again, and all I gotta do now is get Tetsuo back."

"But do you think things I'll ever be the same? I mean, didn't he loose his…"

"Hey, when I lost _my_ heart, you saved me, remember?" Kaneda interrupted. "I was lost in the darkness, and began forgetting everything, like who I was and stuff. But then I heard you voice and it brought me back."

"I-I didn't want to forget you…"

Kaneda sat up and pounded a fist into the palm of his hand. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"Don't you see? Our hearts are connected, so the light from them broke though the darkness. That's what saved me. No matter how deep the darkness it, there's always a light that shines within. It's not just a story!"

Kei smiled. "I guess so." She then dug into her pocket, saying, "Here, take this."

"What is it?" Kaneda asked, as she dropped the object into the palm of his hand. It looked like a small red heart with tiny angel wings.

"This is my lucky charm. Be_ sure_ to bring it back to me."

The teenager nodded. "I will, I promise."

Kei curled her hand into a fist with her pinky sticking out. "Pinky swear?"

Kaneda frowned. "Kei, you do know that only little kids do that kinda stuff anymore…"

"Aw, come on…"

The boy sighed. "Okay, fine."

He reached out and wrapped his pinky around hers, and then Kei told him, "Now repeat after me: Like the brightest stars in the sky."

"Like the brightest stars in the sky..."

"Hearts that have truly joined will never fade."

"Hearts that have truly joined will never fade..."

"Even if these hands are ever pulled apart."

"Even if these hands are ever pulled apart…"

"The bond between them will never be betrayed."

"The bond between them will never be betrayed…" (3)

After another moment, they pulled them apart. They sat there for another moment before Kaneda found the courage to speak again.

"Kei…"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I need to tell you, something that I've wanted to tell you for years."

"What is it?"

"Kei… in case I don't make it out of there alive… I just wanted to say…that I love you. I always did."

"Kaneda… I… I love you too…"

Slowly, they moved towards each other until their faces were just inches away, then they leaned closer and their lips met, as they shared a passionate kiss.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and the two pulled apart, only to see Ed, Al, Gene, Jim, Melfina and Aisha watching them. Jim was holding a large camera in his hands and beaming madly like a Cheshire Cat.

"There's one for the photo album!" he grinned.

"WHY YOU…!"

"Uh oh." And with that, the boy took off as fast as he could, with Kaneda right behind.

The others just sighed and sweat-dropped, watching as Kaneda chased the younger boy all over the park.

"Oh brother…"

* * *

"Okay, it's done." Rick told the trio sometime later. "I just wish you didn't have to go though all this."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine."

As they got into the ship, Rick stopped them. "Hey Kid…"

Kaneda looked back. "Yeah?"

"Good luck."

The teen smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

Sometime later, the group was stocking up on supplies when they heard a voice shouting, "Hey! Kaneda! Ed! Al!"

They all turned to see Yoh and the rest of his group running towards them.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"We heard you were going to stop the cause of the Heartless," the boy said, "and we wanted to give you this." He handed Kaneda a keychain that resembled a double-edged sword with a dragon wrapped around it.

"It's from all of us," Trey added.

"Just think of us whenever you use it." Rio put in.

Kaneda smiled and nodded. "Thanks, you guys."

* * *

As they were getting ready to head for Atlantis, there was a beeping noise. Al pressed a button and a screen came up.

"What is it?"

"We have three notices: One's from Battle Coliseum, another's from the Monster World, and the last one is from Symphonia."

"Which one is the most urgent?"

"Um…" Al's eyes skimmed over the messages. "The one from Monster World seems most important…"

Kaneda nodded. "Alright, we'll go there first."

* * *

When they reached Holly's village in Monster World, they found everyone waiting for them.

"Okay, we're here, so what's the problem?" Kaneda muttered, annoyed.

Suezo was the first one to speak, his voice laced with worry. "You gotta help us! Moo is back, and he's gonna destroy everything!"

"But I thought Moo was gone." Al said, confused.

"Yeah, well, he's back, and he's really ticked off." Tiger said.

"Okay so where is he?" Ed asked.

"Um…we're not sure. We just know he's back because a lot of people saw him."

"So how do we find him?"

Everyone looked at Suezo, who cringed and moved backwards. "Oh no! Don't look at me! I ain't doing it!"

"Come on Suezo!" Holly pleaded.

"Okay, okay…Just go easy on me." He hopped over to Golem, saying, "Ready?"

Golem nodded. "Ready." Suezo jumped on Golem's hand, and the rock giant lifted him up, and then threw him into the air as if he were a baseball.

Soaring upwards, Suezo's eye spotted a dark figure in the distance…"THERE! I SEE HIM!"

"WHERE!?" Everyone was busy looking in the direction Suezo indicated, so no one noticed when he fell to the ground. (4)

"Ow…"

"Oh…sorry…"

"Where is he, Chi?" Mocchi asked.

"To the north of here…" Suezo replied woozily.

"Okay, so let's get back to the ship…"

"Wait!" Suezo jumped up, saying, "Let me take ya! I can teleport there!"

"Uh, no offence Suezo, but your Teleport technique leaves much to be desired." Hare pointed out.

"Aww! Come on!"

"Okay, okay, just be careful, alright?"

Suezo grinned. "You can count on me! Everyone get close!" There was a scramble as everyone scrunched up next to the eyeball monster. "Okay, TELEPORT!"

They all flickered for a brief moment before they vanished into thin air.

* * *

The group suddenly reappeared in a ruined wasteland. "Alright! I did it!" Suezo cheered.

"Uh…what is that?" Ed asked, pointing.

They all turned to see a huge monster in the background. It was covered in white fur, save for a dark-scaled underside, and a fox-like tail with a pink tip.

"Eep!"

"Holy-!"

The giant took no notice of them, as it flew to the top of a mountain and began breathing fire at it.

"Why's he attacking the mountain?" Genki questioned.

"This is not good!" Hare shouted. He pulled an abacus from his bag, and began fiddling with the beads. "He's going to start a chain reaction! If this keeps up, the world will be annihilated in ten minutes!" (5)

"What!? We gotta go stop him!"

"But how?"

"I know!" Kaneda took out a red and gold stone and began chanting, "Flaming bird of destruction and renewal! I summon you! Come forth, Phoenix!"

The stone started to glow a bright white, and became so hot to the touch, that Kaneda nearly dropped it. The Phoenix appeared in a burst of flame, wings spread wide.

"**I am here, what is it that you want me to do?"**

"Moo's not dead, and he's going to destroy everything!" Kaneda exclaimed, pointing at the creature in the distance.

The Phoenix's eyes narrowed. **"It seems my attacks did not destroy him after all. But then, that wasn't his real body in the first place."**

"Huh? What do you mean?" Golem asked. Behind him, Holly shivered nervously.

"**A human discovered Moo's spirit, and it fused with him, creating a pseudo-form."** The Phoenix explained.

Holly stepped forward, her eyes cast to the ground. "I…have something to tell you…the man who unleashed Moo…was… my father."

"WHAT?!" Everyone else but the Phoenix exclaimed.

"Didn't see that one coming, chi." Mocchi said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Tiger demanded angrily.

"I was afraid… you'd hate me…" the girl whispered.

Genki just grinned. "Come on! Just because your father was possessed doesn't mean that you're evil or anything. Lighten up, will ya?"

"Genki…"

"I hate to interrupt, but we have bigger problems." Hare said. "The world is still in peril!"

"Well let's go then!" Kaneda shouted.

"I think I can use magic to slow down the destruction of the world," Ed put in, "But it won't last for long."

"**So let us depart."** The Phoenix said. **"I will summon the Pirate Dragons to this spot, and then we will take off."**

"Holly, you stay here and wait." Genki told the girl. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

The girl smiled and nodded. "Okay, just be careful."

* * *

The Pirate Dragons arrived quickly, and they all headed off towards where Moo was.

"Good luck!" Holly called after them.

"Thanks!"

"You do know that having someone say 'good luck' to you only invites bad luck." (6) Hare told them.

"You just _had_ to bring that up, didn't you…?"

"Heads up guys!" Tiger warned.

They all looked ahead to see the giant dragon-like monster perched on the top of the mountain, still spitting dark flames.

"We should to this together, that might help." Ed told Kaneda.

"Right. On the count of three…THREE!"

"CRONO HALT!" The spell struck the mountain top, and all was silent. Moo looked up from his perch, blood red eyes glaring at the intruders.

"MOCCHI CANNON!" Moochi let loose his attack, the beam striking Moo on the neck.

Hare gulped. "Uh, oh I think you made him mad!"

As if proving his point, Moo reared back and blasted them with a beam of dark fire.

"Look out!" The dragons swerved out of the way, narrowly avoiding the flames.

"**Leave them alone!"** The Phoenix shouted, and dug his talons into the creature's eyes. It roared in pain and shout out another fire blast.

"Get closer!" Kaneda told Falcon. "I think I can hit him!"

"Okay, it's your skin kid."

The dragon flew towards Moo, close enough for Kaneda to slash at his underside. The monster roared and blasted them again, but this time, Kaneda accidentally fell off Falcon's back.

"NO!"

Just then, Kaneda realized he was holding on to something. Looking up, he saw the Phoenix, and realized that was clutching on its leg

"You alright?" Genki called as his dragon flew up to them.

"Never better." Kaneda answered, though he sounded a bit shaken.

They swooped down, narrowly avoiding fire blasts and claw swipes. Below them, the mountain rumbled ominously.

"I think the spell's wearing off!" Ed shouted. "Kaneda and I will do another Chrono Halt spell while you guys keep Moo busy!"

"Roger!" Genki yelled.

"Who's Roger, chi?" asked Moochi.

"Uh…never mind."

The dragons flew by the top of the mountain, and Kaneda and Ed hurried cast another Chrono Halt spell. That task done, they returned to the battle.

Moo reared back and unleashed a beam of molten energy that their barely avoided.

"Geez, doesn't this guy quit?" Ed yelled.

"I have an idea!" Hare shouted. "Maybe we can take him down using a metal conductor, and lighting attacks!" (7)

"Huh?"

"I think I know where he's getting at!" Kaneda said with a grin. "Ed, Tiger? Are you guys up for this?" The other two nodded.

"Yeah."

"Let's do this!"

"Ready? HEEYAAH! Kaneda jumped off and jammed the Keyblade into Moo's head, right between the eyes, and then grabbed on the Pheonix as soon as he flew past.

"Okay, now for Phase Two! LIGHTING—"

"--STORM!"

"TORPEDO!"

Kaneda, Ed and Tiger's combined attacks struck the Keyblade, sending a million volts into Moo's skull. The monster roared in pain, then collapsed to the ground.

The Pirate dragons landed and their riders disembarked, watching cautiously as the creature let out a moan of pain, and dropped again, its body glowing with dark energy as he reverted into a Lost Disk that looked like it was made of obsidian.

The tyrant Moo was, finally, no more.

"It's over…" Tiger breathed.

"Yeah…" Genki smiled and looked to the others. "It is."

* * *

After saying their goodbyes, Kaneda and the gang went to Symphonia, and landed at the ruins of the Tower of Din, where Haru and his group were waiting.

"Hey guys!" the silver-haired boy yelled as they arrived. "You came just in time! There's some monster running loose, and it's destroying the city!"

"What?! Take us to it!" Kaneda shouted.

Right on cue, Griff drove up on his cart up, saying, "Hop aboard gentlemen!"

Once they all got on, the creature pulling the cart set off at a breakneck pace towards the city. In no time, they could hear explosions as well as people screaming. The cart slid to a halt and the group looked out to see what was causing the trouble.

In front of them was a large, roughly humanoid creature made of green slime. Strands of what looked like blond hair stuck out around the head, and a reddish object could be barely seen on its chest area.

"That's right!" It bellowed loudly (and was male judging by its voice), "Flee weaklings from the might of Bio-Broly!" (8)

"Hey ugly! Pick on someone your own size!" The creature turned to face Kaneda, Haru and the others.

"Heh. If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!" He roared. Two spheres of yellow energy formed in his hands, and he flung them at the group, who scattered quickly.

"Try this on for size!" Ed held out his hands and yelled, "INFERNO BLAST!" but to his surprise, nothing happened. "Huh?"

"Foolish boy," the creature leered, "That stuff won't work around me!"

Ed just smirked. "That's fine, I don't need magic to beat you!" he clapped his hands together and brought them to the ground, which buckled and heaved as spikes erupted from its surface. The misshapen creature narrowly avoided them by leaping out of the way. (9)

"Nice try, but you'll have to no better than that!"

"No problem!"

Grabbing his spear, Ed rushed forward, swiping at the creature repeatedly. Broly dodged the blows and jumped behind a car, which he lifted up to throw at him, but Haru just cleaved it in half with his sword.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Annoying pests! I'll take on all of you!" Broly unleashed more energy spheres at them, but the group dodged them and rushed forward into the attack.

Kaneda, Ed, Haru, Musica and Gale all rushed forward, striking repeatedly. Broly smacked Ed away like he was an annoying fly, and then threw Al to the ground at he rushed towards him.

"Damn! Doesn't this guy have a weakness?" Musica shouted.

"Would that count?"

Everyone looked to where Gale was pointing, and noticed the red object half-buried beneath green sludge.

The corners of Kaneda's mouth turned up into a grin. "Yeah…that might work." Turning to the others, he said, "Okay, you guys distract him, and I'll go for that red thing."

"Wait, why do _you_ have to go for it?" Ed interrupted.

"Does it really matter who finishes him off?" Musica questioned.

Just then, they were interrupted by another blast, which forced them to scatter.

"Look, let's just try to get him, alright?" Everyone nodded, and then they all rushed in again.

Kaneda and Haru took turns swiping at Broly with their swords, and the creature's head swiveled like an owl's to shoot out eye lasers that nearly hit Kaneda.

Then Al rushed at him, but Broly jumped out of the way and knocked him over.

"LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE YOU BASTARD!" Ed used alchemy on a fire hydrant, turning it into a large water cannon that blasted Broly at full force, pushing him backwards slightly.

"Is that all you got?" he snarled.

"That was just a distraction!" Ed smirked. "HARU! NOW!"

Broly turned to see Haru rushing towards him with his sword at the ready.

"DEKA FORCE SWORD, EMPOWER!" Haru yelled, and his sword took on a familiar orange-and-black form. "EXPLOSION!"

He slammed the blade into the red spot in Broly's chest, and almost instantly there was a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, the creature staggered back, gasping loudly.

"No…I can't be defeated…not by you…Kakkarot…"

And with that, he collapsed to the ground.

"Phew…it's over." Haru sighed, wiping his brow.

"But what did he mean by 'Kakkarot?'" Al asked.

"Dunno, but I think I heard that name somewhere before…" Kaneda muttered.

* * *

The group's next stop was the Battle Coliseum, in time for the Cell Cup. Kaneda, Ed and Al fought their way through waves of Heartless, winning each and every time. Suzuka sat in the stands, eyes trained on the battle below.

"So, enjoying the show?"

The young woman practically jumped as she saw Gene sitting next to her.

Then Suzuka gave him a half-smile. "You could say that." She replied, and then turned back towards the action. "Where's Aisha?"

"Don't you know? She said she wants to be in the tournament. Something about wanting to get in on the fun…"

"Heh, she'd better watch herself. Those kids are pretty tough."

"Wanna bet?"

* * *

"Hell's Flash!"

Kaneda jumped out of the way of a huge blast of energy, and then stood up to face their opponent, a bulky red-haired android man known as Android #16.

"Stand still!" He roared, and then punched the ground with enough force to crack the earth.

"Sorry, I can't do that." Kaneda smirked.

"Grr…HELL'S FLASH!" A burst of energy ruptured from his gun-arm, which Kaneda dodged nimbly before striking out with his Keyblade.

He hit his mark, cutting though to reveal circuits and wires underneath. "Okay, GO!"

The other two rushed ahead, with Al throwing his shield at # 16 hard enough for it to stick into his body, them Ed ran in, casting a Terra Burst spell that knocked him off his feet. Kaneda stuck the finishing blow, jamming the Keyblade into the giant android's chest. Moments later, the giant android collapsed to the ground.

"And the winner is, Team Kaneda!" The announcer shouted, and a roar filled the stadium.

Kaneda grinned and waved to the crowd. "Alright, who's next?"

"Will the next challenger please step into the arena?" The announced called, and after a moment, a cat-like woman appeared, causing the trio to stare in surprise.

"Hey guys!"

"Aisha? What are you doing here?" asked Al.

"What else?" the catgirl grinned. "I'm gonna fight you guys!"

Kaneda and Ed looked at her and laughed.

"What's so funny?!" Aisha demanded.

"The idea of you fighting us!" Kaneda smirked.

"I'll show you!" Aisha roared, and then suddenly, her form began to shift, striped fur covering her body, her hands and feet shifting into paws, and her face stretching out. In no time at all, it seemed, she was replaced by a snarling tiger.

"That's different…"

With a roar, Aisha tackled Kaneda, pinning him to the ground and trying to bite him, but the teenager blocker her with his Keyblade. "Get…OFF!" He managed to kick her away and she landed, growling fiercely.

The trio rushed at her, dodging furious claws and narrowly avoiding razor-sharp fangs. Finally, a wild swing of Ed's knocked her out, and she collapsed to the ground, slowly returning to her humanoid form.

"And stay down!" he said firmly.

Suddenly, they heard someone clapping, and spun around to face Cell, who was standing there with a sinister smirk on his lips.

"Not bad, Kid, but you're now you'll have to face me!" He raised his arms in the air, and an energy disc appeared from his palms. "DESTRUCTO DISC!" He roared, and then flung it at the trio, forcing them to duck down.

Once they had recovered, Kaneda and the others charged Cell, dodging the various energy blasts he fired at them.

"HYYYYAAAA!" Kaneda leapt into the air, bringing the Keyblade down towards Cell…who suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind him before giving him a punch that sent him crashing down to the ground. The other two ran to his side, looking worried.

"Kaneda!"

"Are you alright?" Ed asked.

Kaneda just grinned and wiped the blood from his lips. "Never better."

Slowly, he got to his feet, and glared at Cell, who was hovering just overhead.

"Come on down and face me you coward!" he shouted angrily.

Cell smirked. "As you wish." He said, then dove down towards them, but Kaneda was ready, jumping back, and shouting, "Terra Burst!" The force of the blow sent him flying back, but he righted himself in the air. "Destructo Disc!" The attack was blocked by Kaneda's shield spell, but then Cell flew down, knocking the teenager to the ground.

"Why don't you just give up?" The android sneered.

"Sorry, that's not my style." Kaneda answered with a big grin, then rolled over and kicked him off before yelling, "Chrono Halt!" The effect of the spell slowed down Cell enough for Kaneda to strike the final blow, bringing down his weapon down on him with enough force to slice through his body, and he collapsed to the ground.

"The winner- Team Kaneda!" the announcer yelled, and the crowd started to cheer wildly.

As they waved to the stadium full of fans, Kaneda turned to the others and stated, "I don't know about you guys, but I could use a break."

* * *

In the shadows, a dark figure watched the scene below, a sninister smirk plastered across his face.

"Soon, very soon, I will have my revenge...but first, I'll have to take care of those three."

The figure's grin widened at the thought.

* * *

After spending some time recuperating, the trio headed back to the battlefield, only to find Gene and Suzuka waiting for them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Al asked.

"What else? We're here for the fight." Gene explained, pulling out his caster.

Kaneda just grinned. "You wanted a rematch, right? Well, here it is!" Then the teenager rushed towards the pair, with the Elric brothers at his heels.

Gene started firing, while Suzuka just charged at them with her swords out. Kaneda instantly blocked her attack as she swung at him.

"Not bad kid, you've gotten better since the last time we met." She said. "Let's test your skills!" She pushed him back, and then spun around, striking again.

At the same time, Ed and Al were dodging Gene's bullets, and striking out when they could. Al blocked the bullets with his shield, and Ed fired spells off rapidly.

"Artic Freeze!" The ice spell froze up the man's hands, preventing him from firing.

"Now that's just playing dirty." Gene noted.

"Hey, ya wanna end this or not?" Ed smirked. He and Al kept pressing their attacks, with Ed even using an Inferno Blast spell that inadvertantly melted the ice on Gene's hands. With a smirk, the red-haired man started firing again Al quickly drew a strange design in the dirt, and brought his hands down on it, forming a shield made of earth to protect them from the bullets, then made the shield split apart and fly at him.

Then the pair took the this chance to attack, driving him backwards and into a wall.

Meanwhile, Kaneda and Suzuka were in the middle of a fierce one-on-one sword fight. Despite being somewhat outmatched, Kaneda was able to hold his own aganst her.

They jumped back and forth, their blades clashing repeatedly as they struck out at each other, neither backing down.

Finally, Kaneda managed to knock Suzuka's blade from her hands and it fell to the ground with a clatter. Then the teen pointed his blade at directly at her, saying, "Do you still wanna take me?"

Suzuka grinned. "I should've guessed you'd be able to top me. You've sure come a long way."

Behind them, Gene got to his feet, then put away his caster saying, "Wll you were right Suzuka, I guees I owe you ¥500."

Even as the announcer proclaimed the trio's victory, Gene and Suzuka made their way to the exit. Then Gene stopped and looked back at them, saying, "Oh, and before I forget, here's a little something for you, a prize, if you will."

He tossed to Kaneda a keychain resembling a pair of crossed katanas. "It's the Twin Blade Keychain. I know you'll be able to use it well."

Kaneda looked down at the keychain, not noticing the duo take their leave.

"Not bad, but can you handle me?" came a voice, and the trio turned to look as a white-cloaked figured stepped into the arena.

Kaneda blinked as the figure approached. "Suzuka?"

The figure smirked. "Nice try kid. My name is Hitoriga. I look like Suzuka, because I can never have her, so this will have to do." (10)

The trio stared. "Oookay then…" Ed murmured, circling one finger beside his head.

"Quiet shorty!" Hitoriga snapped. This statement only served to tick the boy off.

"HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE CAN DROWN IN A CUP OF WATER!?" He bellowed angrily. (11)

"Nii-San! Calm down!" Al pleaded, trying to restrain his irate brother.

"Humph." Hitoriga turned away, saying, "These are my opponents? Feh. At least Suzuka showed some class when we fought."

"Why you--!"

The man looked back at him. "So you do want to fight? Well then, let's go, little boy."

"Okay, that's it!" Kaneda attached his new keychain, and the Keyblade took on a katana-like appearance. The he charged at Hitoriga, who calmly drew his sword. The two went at it, their weapons clashing so often sparks flew about as their blades met.

The others ran into help, with Ed furiously casting spells and Al hanging back to draw a Transmutation Seal in the dirt, then brought his hands down on it, causing the earth to buckle and heave before rising up. Kaneda rode the earth, and struck at Hitoriga, knocking him to the ground.

As the dust cleared, Kaneda saw Hitoriga slowly stand up, one hand over his side as a crimson stain spread over his white robes. "I won't... be defeated... he snarled, "... Not by the likes... OF YOU!"

Raising his blades, the warrior repeatedly slashed at them, forcing the trio back. Ed hurriedly summoned up Moro to unleash a huge howl upon Hitoriga, who held up his arms to defend himself from the attack. While he was distracted, Ed and Kaneda unleashed a double gravity spell that sent Hitoriga crashing into the stadium walls.

The announcer raised one hand in the air and shouted, "And our new champions are Team Kaneda!" The crowd burst into spontanous cheers, and confetti rained down upon the victors.

In the following celebratory cheers, no one noticed Hitoriga take his leave.

* * *

In the main hall, the trio was greeted by Krillin, Goku, and the rest.

"You did it! I knew you could do it!" Krillin grinned.

"Yeah! You were awesome out there!" Goku added with a thumbs up.

Vegeta, however, was the only one who didn't seem convinced. "Humph." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. "I still don't think the kid has what it takes."

Kaneda looked angry. "Oh yeah? Well..." he looked around, and spotted the pillar from before. "How about I move this thing? Will that show how strong I am?"

"Alright, I will!" Kaneda turned towards the pillar, and sighed. "Guess I'll have to move that stupid thing after all." The teenager put his shoulder to the pillar with all his strength and pushed, but with no luck, until… he felt the the pillar begin to move slightly. Looking up, Kaneda saw Ed and Al pushing on the pillar as well.

"What are you doing?" He asked, confused.

"Helping you push this thing, duh!" Ed responded.

"It's only fair, since we've been through so much together."Al added.

The teenager grinned. "Okay on the count of three…THREE!"

They all strained and pushed…and finally the pillar slid off to reveal a Keyhole, which Kaneda immediately locked.

Krillin turned to Goku, asking, "Did you know that was there?"

The other man shook his head. "Not really. But you know what? When I tried to move that pillar the other day, it wouldn't budge. I think that together, those boys have something special going for them."

Krillin smiled. "Yeah, I think you may have a point."

After a monement, Kaneda looked up and asked, "Hey, what do we get for winning, anway?"

Krillin rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, we do have a nice trophy... but for you guys, since you worked so hard, how about a victory feast?"

Goku broke out into a huge grin. "Yeah! That's sounds great! Let's do it!"

As the others left to start the victory feast, Suzuka stepped towards the group, "Well, I guess this is it, kid." she said. "See you around."

"Wait, you're going?" Ed asked.

Suzuka nodded. "Yeah...there's still something I have to do.." she pointed towards the area gates, and they all looked in that direction.

"But what is it you have to do anyway?"

Kaneda looked back, only to see that she was gone.

"Damn. Don't you just hate it when someone pulls a Batman?"

* * *

Later that night, Suzuka walked into the darkened stadium, watching as someone appeared before her.

"Hm... Hitoriga, is it? I'd say it's good to see you again, but then I'd be lying."

"Same here. It's time we finish this once and for all!"

Hitoriga dew his sword, and Suzuka pulled out hers. Then they rushed at each other, swords flying and sparks coming off the steel.

The two combatants leapt about, striking repeatedly. Faster and faster they went, trading blows with no signs of weakness for either.

Their blades clashed together, and the two briefly glared at each other before they pulled apart. Then Suzuka rushed Hitoriga…and suddenly they were gone, just like that.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaneda sighed and slipped back into his seat.

"Now that all _that's_ over with, let's get going!"

Ed pressed a button, and a whirling purple vortex appeared in front of them.

"LET'S GO!"

With that they shot through the portal like a cork out of a bottle, which instantly closed up after them, leaving no trace of it behind.

* * *

Somewhere else, a lone figure walked along a snowy white road in a dark void. Both of them seemed to go on for miles and miles without end.

"Kaneda…Kei… I'm really sorry…"

Tetsuo staggered along the path, his body flickering slightly like a hologram on the fritz. He stumbled to the ground, and for a brief moment, his form started flickering faster.

"No…I can't disappear… not yet… not until I can see my friends one last time…"

"**Tetsuo? Can you hear me?"**

The teen's head shot up. "Huh? Who's that?"

A deep, powerful voice reverberated around the area. **"I'll be with you soon. I have the Keyblade from this side…"**

There was a pause, and then the voice started speaking again.

"**I've been talking to you all this time, but up until now, the darkness surrounding your heart prevented you from hearing what I was saying."**

Tetsuo frowned. "Look, I don't know who you are, but I want to know what's going on."

There was a sigh. **"Very well then. Your heart has overcome the darkness, but you couldn't take back your body, so you heart was left where the stolen hearts are gathered."**

"Okay…so now what?"

"**The door of darkness will soon appear, one which we cannot pass through. To close it, two hearts and two keys are needed. Perhaps that's why were' here, for that reason. Maybe it's fate."**

The teenager looked downwards, staring at his feet. "Fate, huh?" He looked up again, saying, "Listen, just tell me one thing: are Kaneda and Kei safe?"

"**You should be able to feel their hearts. How you perceive your friends depends on it."**

Tetsuo closed his eyes, and for a brief moment, he saw Kaneda running towards him. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"I don't know what that means…but thanks."

_**To be concluded….**_

* * *

Alright folks! The next chapter's gonna be the last one, so get ready!

1- I hope you don't mind it being there.

2- What do you think of this idea? And don't ask how he knew the name. He just does.

3- I heard this line on a commercial for the anime **Rumbling Hearts**, and figured it would fit the mood.

4- I thought it was funny when they did that in the show, so I just _had _to put it in.

5- I know it's a little far-fetched, but…

6- Not sure if this is true or not, but I put it in anyway

7- Yeah, yeah, I know, it's kinda

8-Okay, okay, I know this is from a different series, but I thought it would be interesting anyway…even though I haven't seen the DBZ movie "Bio-Broly" yet. (sweatdrops) However, I am thinking of putting him in Anime Hearts 2…

9- I've noticed that Ed doesn't use a lot of Alchemy in this fic, but I'm working to change that.

10-Thank you Wikipedia!

11-Something else I'm working on adding more into this series.


	16. Chapter 15: It's The End of the World

AN: Well, here it is- actual last chapter of the story. Hope you've all enjoyed my take on Kingdom Hearts. True, it's not the best KH parody out there, but it was sure fun to write.

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy.

* * *

Ch. 14: It's the End of the World as we know it (And I Don't Feel Fine) (1)

* * *

When the group reached Atlantis, they spotted a figure wearing red leaning against a pillar.

"Hey, Inuyasha!"

The half-demon turned to face them. "Glad to see you're alright."

Kaneda nodded. "You too. Where's Kagome?"

Inuyasha jerked his thumb back at the temple, saying, "She's still inside."

"Why? Is she there against her will?" Al asked.

"No, she must've had a good reason. Anyway, the other Princesses are with her."

"Wonder why. Maybe we should ask her."

* * *

The group (including Inuyasha), fought their way into the temple, where they found a teenaged girl in a school uniform reading some sort of book.

"Kagome!"

The girl looked up. "Inuysha…"

"Yeah?"

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!" Inuyasha was practically blown backwards by the force of her voice.

"Uh…Kagome?"

The teenaged girl looked at Kaneda. "You're here to seal the Keyhole, right?" The teen nodded. "Well, be careful. The darkness is getting stronger, and I don't think we can hold it back for much longer!"

* * *

Soon, they found the first two princesses, Francoise and Kari.

"We've been waiting for you." The first girl said.

"Where's Dartz?" Kaneda asked.

"He's gone." Francoise replied.

"When the Keyhole appeared, a lot of darkness flowed out of it, and swallowed him." Kari explained.

"Dartz may be gone," Francoise added, "But the darkness hasn't stopped, and we're trying to hold it back."

"I can't forget the look on his face. When he was taken by the darkness, he was smiling." Kari sighed. "I don't see what there's to be happy about…"

Then the group went to talk to Ellie, Chihiro and Misty.

"Please hurry! Darkness is coming from the Keyhole!" Ellie begged them.

"Yeah, we know."

"We're trying to hold it back, but it's not easy." Chihiro added.

"I don't think we can hold it back for long." Misty put in.

"Okay, then we'd better hurry."

"Remember! We're counting on you!" Ellie shouted after them.

* * *

"Okay guys; keep your eyes peeled for any Heartless…" Kaneda warned. Suddenly, they heard something behind them. They all spun around… and saw a HUGE purple bull with a large Heartless crest on its forehead coming at them with the force of a speeding train.

"Look out!"

They managed to jump out of the way as the creature slammed into a wall.

"What was that?!"

"I don't know, but I don't think it's friendly!"

The creature turned to face them, and, snorting, pawed its hoof on the ground.

"Get ready…"

The creature, (which Kaneda had mentally dubbed "Dark Taurus" (2)) rushed them again, but this time, Ed vaulted into the air and landed on its back, grabbing hold of its mane. Dark Taurus slid to a halt and began to buck wildly.

Everyone stopped running and turned around. "Ed! Hold on!" Kaneda yelled.

"What do you _think_ I'm doing!?" Ed shouted.

Waving his spear around, he ended up striking one of the creature's horns, causing it to bellow in pain. If one looked closely, they could see the horn pulsing with a dark light.

"That must be his weak point!" Al shouted.

"Alright then," Inuyasha smirked, cracking his knuckles, "Let's go! HYYA!" He jumped into the air, and with a shout of "Wind Scar!" attacked the horn, nearly hitting Ed in the process.

"Hey watch it!" He yelled.

Unfortunately, soon after, he lost his grip and crashed to the ground with a thud.

Kaneda ran underneath the Dark Taurus and slashed its legs, causing it to fall forward.

"Okay, _now_!"

Everyone struck the horn until the creature got back up, shaking its head and causing energy balls to come forth. They all ducked to avoid the energy orbs, but were knocked off their feet because of shockwaves caused by Dark Taurus' giant hooves.

"Alright," Kaneda growled, "I'm through playing around! Al, give me a boost!"

"Okay…" The walking suit of armor lifted him up and hurled him through the air at the Dark Taurus, and then Kaneda thrust the Keyblade straight through its horn, causing it to split apart.

The Dark Taurus thrashed about wildly, throwing Kaneda to the ground. The teen slowly got up; watching as the Dark Taurus's body crumbled away, like a sand statue blown away by the wind. Even as the last traces of it disappeared, Kaneda picked up the Keyblade from where it fell.

"Hey! There's the Keyhole!" Al exclaimed. And sure enough, there it was, just hovering overhead.

"You did it, kid."

"Huh?" They all turned to see Gene, Jim, Aisha, and Melfina standing behind them.

"What are you doing here?"

"We came on Rick's ship." Aisha explained.

"Yeah, we wanted to see you in action." Jim added.

"This world is a real mess…but when Dartz is defeated, the worlds will be restored, including yours." Melfina said.

Kaneda's heart leapt at this statement. "Really? Y-you mean it?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah…but once the worlds are restored, they'll be separated again."

"So? We can just visit the worlds, right?"

"It's not that easy." Gene said. "Before all this happened, you had no knowledge of the worlds, right?"

"Right…"

"That's because impassible walls kept them separate." Jim explained. "But the Heartless broke these walls."

"So, if the worlds are restored, then so are the walls." Aisha put in.

"In other words, ships are useless." Gene finished.

"WHAT?! But that isn't fair!"

"Life's not fair, kid. Though we might not be able to see each other again, we still won't forget each other."

"No matter what, our hearts will bring us together."

"And, I couldn't forget ya if I wanted to!" Aisha added.

"WHADDYA MEAN BY THAT!?"

"Uh, hello! I hate to interrupt, but the Keyhole still needs to be closed!" Ed shouted.

"Oh yeah, right." Kaneda raised his Keyblade, and a beam of light shot out, locking the Keyhole.

"Good work kid," Gene said, "But you still have more to do."

Kaneda nodded. "Yeah, I figured."

* * *

After saying their goodbyes, the group made their way to the Chapel where the Princesses were.

"Thanks to you, the darkness is starting to weaken." Chihiro told them.

"But there's still a powerful one far away." Ellie said.

"The heart of darkness…that must be where Dartz went after he was taken by the darkness." Kari said.

"So let's got find him!" Kaneda shouted.

Francoise nodded. "Very well then, but let us offer some power to you."

"They held out their hands and a red glow surrounded Kaneda's form, before it vanished.

"There. Your Inferno Blast spell is now Hellfire Blaze."

Misty smiled. "I think you have what it takes to bring back our worlds." She said.

"And with the darkness gone, everything should return to normal." Kari added.

Kaneda nodded. "Thanks." Then they all went over to the next room where they found Melfina and Kagome waiting for them.

"Are you ready to take on this challenge?" Melfina asked.

"You bet!" Kaneda grinned.

"Good. Then you'll need this." Kagome handed Kaneda a keychain that resembled a marble-sized pink orb. "The Shikon no Tama keychain will serve you well."

Kaneda attached the Keychain, and the Keyblade became a light pink with darker pink diamonds covering it. The blade part

"Also, to help you, I will upgrade your healing spell, so you can use Healer Wave." She raised her hands and a pinkish light briefly surrounded Kaneda before it faded away. Then Kagome suddenly stopped and shuddered.

"Something wrong?"

"I…don't know. I feel an evil presence… a gate has been opened…"

Kaneda nodded. "Alright, we'll go check it out!"

* * *

As they ran towards the portal in the other room, they found the other Princesses waiting.

"I wonder if the gate's appearance means that something bad will happen…" Francoise whispered.

"From the gate, I can feel the power of darkness…no…it's something different. Maybe it's something more dangerous than darkness…" Kari said.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Misty said.

"If it were darkness, we could hold it back, but this is different. This isn't the power of darkness but a third power…"

"A feeling different from darkness… Please be careful!" Chihiro pleaded.

"Don't worry, we can handle it." Kaneda answered. "Right guys?" The others nodded.

Then they all ran through the portal and ended up in a round room. Although they didn't see it, behind them was a shrouded figure that appeared to be fading in and out of existence. Sensing a presence, Kaneda spun around… just as the figure passed straight through him. As it did, he had a sudden flash of memories… (3)

"_Kei!"  
_

"_Tetsuo? Why are you helping the Heartless?"  
__  
"All for one and one for all!"_

"_My friends are my power!"_

"_Give Tetsuo his heart back!"_

"Kei…thank you…"

"_This time, I'll protect you…" _

Kaneda fell back, gasping. He hurriedly got to his feet and stared at the form in front of him. It was a figure wearing a black hooded cloak that obscured his face.

"Who are you?!" He demanded.

The figure turned to face him. He did not speak, but Kaneda heard the words clearly in his mind.

"**It seems you are special too…"**As he spoke, darkness clouded the teen's vision.

"Dartz…?"

The figure turned to face Al. **"That's a familiar name…"**There was more darkness accompanying the words.

The hooded person held up a gloved hand as a blue light made of a lattice of hexagon shapes appeared in it. **"You seem just like him…"**

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kaneda yelled, ignoring the shadows over his eyes. Pulling out his Keyblade, he blocked the energy the man suddenly threw at him, sending it crashing into the ceiling.

"**You are not complete."**There was a flash of darkness yet again.**"Unfinished one…Allow me to test your power."**

Drawing out a sword of red energy, he leapt at them, but Kaneda managed to block the attack. The cloaked figure struck back, using his energy sword, the hexagon-latticed energy bolts, blue energy surges, and occasional walls of energy.

Kaneda and the others tried reflecting the attacks back at him, as well as dodging and blocking, and striking whenever they had the chance.

"Now you're finished!" Kaneda yelled.

"**Am I now?"** The figure pulled out another red energy sword and began spinning around, a deadly red whirlwind of energy. Eventually, he stopped and began pelting them with red energy orbs and blue energy bolts. The group continued their strategy, relying on various attacks and spells.

Speaking of which, Kaneda was just getting ready to do one.

"Terra Burst!" The gravity-based attack caught the man by surprise. Everyone charged at him, striking with everything they had.

"Wind Scar!"

"Hellfire Blaze!"

The barrage of attacks sent the man flying backwards, and he crashed into a wall. As he slowly got up, he was surrounded by an orb of blue latticed energy. The man fell backwards, clutching his chest, but then the energy vanished in of bluish black wave.

"**Fascinating."**Once again, there was more darkness**. "This is going to be fun."**

"What do you mean?!" Demanded Kaneda, running towards the cloaked figure the moment his vision cleared.

He leapt towards the man, weapon drawn… but suddenly the world seemed to flash black and white, and there was a buzzing noise as the man became intangible, and Kaneda jumped right through him. He spun around again, eyes wide.

"**In your current state, you can not possibly hope to understand."** The figure looked back at Kaneda, saying, **"Either way, we will meet again."**

Fighting the shadows obscuring his vision, Kaneda shouted, "Wait! Who are you?!"

Before his very eyes, the man seemed to vanish in front of him as he spoke.

"**I am… a mere shell… and nothing more…"**

And with these cryptic words, darkness blocked his view one last time, and when it lifted, the man was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Shaken, the group headed back to the Chapel area.

"So, how was it?" Misty asked. "Did you stop the mysterious force?"

"Actually, I don't know what it was." Kaneda answered, scratching the back of his head. "There was this weird guy who kept talking in riddles and stuff."

"Hm. That's odd." Francoise said.

"Yeah, we'd better get going and stop Dartz." Ed put in.

"Um…if it's okay with you, I'd like to stay here and keep an eye on the Princesses." Inuyasha told them.

Kaneda blinked. "Really? Okay, if that's what you want. Wish us luck."

* * *

_**World Name: Final Zone**_

* * *

"Is this all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?" Al said, astounded.

They were standing in a dark void with chunks of land floating here and there. The air was chilly, and no life could be seen, Heartless or otherwise.

"I bet they'll be restored once Dartz is gone." Kaneda said. In his hand was the Infinity Keyblade, a magnificent weapon that was gold and silver a blade that resembled a crown.

"I guess so…" Ed muttered.

Kaneda looked down. "But after we beat him and restore the worlds, what's gonna happen to this place, and to us for that matter?"

They paused, not sure of what to think of this statement.

"Well, if this is a Heartless world, then maybe it'll disappear, right?"

Everyone looked at Al, confused. "Huh?"

"But I'm not worried. If this place is destroyed, our hearts won't be."

"Yeah. I see your point." Kaneda said. He looked down at the lucky charm Kei had given him. "I'll return this, I promise."

With that being said, they all ran off, down hallway after hallway, but still finding nothing but Heartless.

"I wonder where Dartz is." Al questioned.

"Well, he's in the darkest, most dangerous place of course!" Ed answered.

Suddenly, they all slid to a halt, finding themselves back in Anime City.

"Okay, this is weird…"

At that moment, they were mobbed by several Heartless. Kaneda, Ed and Al fought back, eventually obliterating them. But no sooner than they did, the trio realized they were in the Spirit World, with more Heartless waiting. So they took them out and ended in another world, and so on, and so on. (4)

"Phew! That was tough!" Kaneda gasped after a while.

Just then, a pillar of fire shot out of the ground, and vanished to reveal a figure in a red robe with bat wings on his shoulders.

"Who dares face the almighty Daemon?" It asked coldly.

"We do!" Ed shouted, raising his lance.

"Very well then. Let us fight. CHAOS FLARE!" Balls of fire appeard in the Digimon's clawed hands, which he threw at them.

"Take this! Subzero Beam!" Ed unleashed a beam of ice energy at Daemon, temporarily freezing him before he broke out.

"Pathetic. EVIL INFERNO!" He held up his hands, and twin beams of flames shot out. Forcing them to duck and dodge. Ed growled angrily and ran at the evil creature, which turned to face him.

"Evil Flapping!" Daemon flapped his wings rapidly; creating a strong wing that sent Ed flying backwards before he could reach him.

"Nii-san!"

The blond-haired boy struggled to his feet. "I'm not done yet! LIGHTING STORM!" From out of nowhere, bolts of lighting cut through the air like knives and struck Daemon, who screeched in pain.

"Gr… you'll pay for that…" He threw more fireballs at them, and Ed and Kaneda tried deflecting them back at him.

"This isn't working!" Kaneda shouted.

"What, you've got another idea?" Ed retorted.

"Just one! CHARGE!" They all ran at him, dodging the fireballs and flame blasts, striking him with everything they had. "Gaia Force!" Kaneda's spell slammed into Daemon, followed by a "Hellfire Blaze" courtesy of Ed. After that, Kaneda summoned up Moro to unleash a powerful howl.

As Daemon was reeling, they all struck one last time. The creature let out a final pained scream before he vanished.

"Whew…come on, we'd better get going."

They continued their journey, until they came to a huge door.

"Well, how do we open it?" Al asked.

"Uh, don't look now, but I think we have company!" Ed shouted.

They all looked up to see a multitude of Heartless coming their way. "Get away!" Kaneda yelled, striking at them. Suddenly, the door began to crumble.

"Did you see that?"

"I sure did! I think we gotta take care of these guys first!" Ed grinned. "And I think I know how to do it!" Pulling out an orange stone, he shouted, "Creature of fire! I summon you! Come forth, Flamon!"

As the Digimon appeared in a red flash, Kaneda told him, "Take out the Heartless!"

Flamon turned to face the approaching creatures. "Okay… BABY SALAMANDER!" He took a deep breath and breathed out a stream of flames, obliterating the remaining Heartless and destroying the door completely.

"Good job, Flamon!"

The creature looked back at him and grinned widely before vanishing.

"Come on! Let's go!"

They all ran forward, and into a room that seemed to pulse with a soft light. Suddenly, Kaneda stopped in his tracks. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Ed asked him.

"Don't you hear it? Someone's talking!" He strained his ears, and, sure enough, he could hear a voice speaking to him.

"_**Be careful, for this is the last safe place you'll find here. Beyond this point, there is no light to protect you. But do not be afraid, because your heart is the greatest weapon. Remember, Shotaro Kaneda, you are the one who will open the door to the light."**_

"…I don't hear anything." Ed muttered.

"Really? It must have been my imagination… Come on, let's go."

He pulled open the door…and they suddenly found themselves in a large city, which was normally filled with people, but was now silent as the grave, with no signs of life to be seen anywhere.

Kaneda's eyes widened "Is…is this my home world?"

The trio made their way through the empty city and headed towards the old garage where Kaneda and his gang used to hang out, back when their world was still whole.

"…What does this all mean?" Kaneda asked no one in particular.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out though the still air.

"**This world has been connected, and soon, it will be swallowed by the darkness."**

Around the group, objects began to vanish.

"**There is a lot to learn, but you understand so little. You do not know what lies behind the door."**

The sky above them turned purple as the voice added, **"One who knows nothing does not understand anything."**

There was a flash as Tetsuo appeared, with his back to them and wearing his dark outfit.

"**Take a good look at this place. To a person seeking freedom, a place surrounded by tall buildings is almost like a prison. This boy sought to escape, to cross over into new worlds, and in doing so, opened his heart to the darkness."**

Tetsuo slowly turned around, and as he did, his form was obscured by dark smoke. When it cleared, they saw that he had turned into Dartz.

"Tetsuo!" Kaneda yelled.

"Do not bother. Your voice can no longer reach him, for his heart once more belongs to the darkness, where all worlds begin and end. The heart is no different, as darkness grows within it until it is eventually consumed. You see, darkness is the true essence of the heart."

The group spun around in surprise, seeing Dartz himself floating in the air behind them.

"You've got it all wrong!" Kaneda shouted. "Sure the heart may be weak, and sometimes it might even give in. But if there's one thing I've learned from my journey, it's that deep down inside, there's a light that never goes out, no matter what!"

Dartz just smirked. "So you have come this far, and yet you still do not understand anything. Every light must eventually fade, and every heart must return to darkness!"

Beside him, a creature that looked like it was made from shadows appeared, its yellow eyes gleaming.

"You guys get that thing!" Kaneda shouted. "I'll take on Dartz!" As he ran towards the evil man, the shadowy being threw knives of dark energy at him. Kaneda tried to dodge, but one caught him in the shoulder. He gasped in pain and held his wounded shoulder.

Dartz's lips turned up in a sinister smirk. "Had enough, boy?"

The teen smiled grimly. "No way!" He rushed Dartz again, but the man seemed to zip out of his path, and behind Kaneda. "Huh?" As he turned around, Dartz struck him and sent him flying into a wall.

"Are you ready to give up?"

Kaneda slowly got to his feet, saying, "You don't know me very well, do ya? I _never_ give up!" He rushed him again, and shouted, "Gaia Force!" The attack sent Dartz flying backwards, and Kaneda ran at him again. At the same time, Ed and Al struck at the shadowy figure, though their attacks seemed to have no effect.

Then without warning, the ground began to shake, as everything around them disappeared completely. When Kaneda looked back, he saw Ed and Al lying on the ground. A shimmer in the air indicated that there was an invisible barrier separating them.

"Guys!" Kaneda tried to run to them, but was startled by someone else's presence. Looking up, he saw the monstrous Darkside looming overhead.

The teen smirked. "So we meet again, huh? Well this time, I'm more powerful than when we first met!

The creature slammed its fist into the ground, but Kaneda ran up its arm, and slashed at its face. It screamed in pain, and clawed at its face, trying to get him. Kaneda managed to jump to the ground, where he had to take out a few shadows. By that time, Darkside had recovered, and held its arms out, creating dark energy orbs that it sent flying at the teen.

Kaneda ran about, striking the orbs and sending them back at the giant. After a while, Darkside resorted to trying to smash him again, so Kaneda ran up its arm and slashed at its face, and so on and so on, until it finally collapsed.

As he stood there, panting, there was a noise behind him. Kaneda turned to see Dartz, smirking evilly. Behind him was the shadowy figure, looming behind Dartz like a shadow. "Not bad, boy…but can you take me on all by yourself?"

"Just wait a minute. SUBZERO BEAM!" Dartz ducked to avoid the attack, and then smirked at him.

"Ha! You missed!"

"Wasn't aimin' at ya!" Kaneda replied with a cocky grin.

Dartz turned to see the shadowy figure frozen in a block of ice. Stunned, he turned back towards Kaneda, who was still smirking. "There. Now we're even!"

"Why you…YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU IMPITENT WHELP!" Dartz bellowed, running at him, with a curved sword bared.

"Force Shield!" Kaneda's spell stopped the attack in time, but had to jump back to avoid another slash. Again and again the other man attacked, with Kaneda trying to block each one, unaware that he was backing towards a wall until he felt it behind him.

"NOW I HAVE YOU!" Dartz cried, swinging his blade. Kaneda barely ducked in time, then swung his blade…only to have Dartz block it.

Suddenly the air seemed to whirl around him as a dark cloud surrounded the two figures.

"What the…?"

"Behold the endless void!" Dartz exclaimed, holding his arms out. "In it, the heart of all worlds: Anime Hearts!"

In front of them, a huge white door with gold trimming magically appeared out of nowhere.

"Look as hard as you can, boy. You won't find even the smallest point of light. From the darkness is where all hearts are born, even yours. Darkness conquers everything!" Dartz announced with a hint of smugness.

Kaneda looked up, and saw Dartz waiting, an evil smirk on his face. Emerging from his back were tentacles that attached his body to an enormous purple serpent-like creature. (5)

Suddenly, all three of them were falling. Ed and Al fell though a dark warp, but Kaneda was about to be sucked up too when he heard a familiar voice speaking to him.

_"Giving up so soon? Come on, Kaneda, I though you were tougher than that."_

Tetsuo's voice snapped Kaneda out of his numbness like cold water had been thrown upon him. Her managed to fly up to face Dartz.

"Geez, I didn't think it was possible, but you're weirder looking then before!" Kaneda said with a lopsided grin.

The being said nothing; it just lashed out with its tentacles, and then threw orbs of dark energy at him, forcing Kaneda to move out of the way.

"Hellfire Blaze!" The fire attack scorched the being's hide, but did nothing to stop its onslaught.

"Haven't had enough? Well try this on for size! LIGHTING STORM!" Bolts of lighting shot out of thin air and repeatedly stabbed the abomination like knives. Kaneda took the chance to strike at the creature and Dartz himself.

After a few more hits, Dartz raised both arms like he was going to cast a spell. Kaneda braced himself, but a Heartless Crest just materialized in front of Dartz.

The teenager tried to strike it, but his blade just bounced off its surface. Kaneda frowned.

"Damn coward…"

Then his attention was grabbed by another portal that had just appeared. He floated down closer to examine it. "Huh, wonder where this goes…"

Experimentally, he put one hand through, and quickly pulled it back out after a few seconds before examining it. No damage or change could be seen. Satisfied, he took a deep breath and flew through.

* * *

When Kaneda came out the other side, he was in a dark room, at the center of which, was a floating purple-red orb. "Guess I have to destroy that…" he muttered to himself. "This shouldn't be too hard…"

Just then, he was surrounded by Heartless that were black orbs with smaller arms and legs, with the Heartless symbol emblazoned in the middle of their spherical form.

Kaneda gulped. "…Me and my big mouth!"

The Heartless (We'll call them Shadow Spheres) rushed forward, and Kaneda ran head on to meet them, swinging his Keyblade like there was no tomorrow.

"Help! Somebody!"

The teenager froze, quickly recognizing that voice. "Al? Is that you?"

"Kaneda? I'm over here!"

The teen raced towards his friend's location, fighting off the swarming Shadow Spheres. Eventually, he found Al held up against the wall by dark chains.

"AL!"

The armor turned to face him. "Kaneda!"

"Hold on, I'll get you down from there!" He began slashing the chains holding Al's arms up, unaware of the Heartless lurking behind him.

"Look out!"

The teen spun around at Al's warning, and managed to cut it down before it had the chance to attack. At the same, Al managed to remove the remaining chains.

"Where's your shield?" Kaneda asked, watching him throw the chains away.

"Over there!" Al pointed to a corner, where a slightly dented metal shield rested. Unfortunately, a bunch of Shadow Spheres blocked their way.

"Looks like we'll have to fight our way through, huh?" Kaneda muttered, hefting his Keyblade.

"Sure looks like it." Al answered. He then punched an approaching Heartless, hitting it with enough force to send it flying into several others.

Kaneda just ran ahead, slashing away until he could reach the shield, which he threw to Al, shouting, "Here catch!" After the armor grabbed it, he added, "Try to head for that orb thing in the center!"

Al nodded. "Got it!" Shield in front, he charged forward, plowing his way through the Shadow Spheres. Kaneda ran behind him, slashing away. It worked well for a bit, but then they were surrounded on all sides. "This is bad…"

Kaneda looked up, and spotted the dark-looking orb in front of them. "Hey, Al! Try throwing your shield that way!"

Al blinked. "O-okay…" He threw his shield like a discus, towards the orb. The Shadow Spheres ducked out of the way, but when they realized just where it was going they leapt forward to stop it…but they were too late.

The disc sliced through the orb, shattering it like glass. At the same time, all of the Shadow Spheres inexplicably vanished in a cloud of dark smoke.

"Okay, now we can…" Kaneda was cut off when the ground under their feet began to shake. "Now what?!"

He got his answer when out of the ground rose a purplish head with yellow slit eyes and a gaping mouth full of needle-sharp teeth. Snarling, it opened its mouth wide to unleash a beam of electricity, forcing the duo to jump and dodge to avoid the attack.

"Oh no, you don't!" Kaneda leapt at it, strong the head, Al following up by pounding on it as well. And so it went on, with Kaneda and Al beating up the head and dodging its electrical attacks. Finally, the head moaned and slumped back, its mouth gaping open.

"Come on!" Kaneda grabbed Al's hand and pulled him through the mouth.

* * *

They wound up in a dark room with walls that seemed to be carved from a purplish crystal that gave off an eerie glow.

"It's so dark. Where do you think Ed is?"

Right on cue, a familiar voice cut though the air.

"Hey! Getcher hands off me! I'm warning you…"

"Ed! I'm coming Nii-san!"

Al took off, with Kaneda trailing behind, and soon they found Ed surrounded by dark figures holding swords.

"Nii-san!"

Weakly, the boy looked up at them. "…Great timing… you guys…"

The dark figures rushed at them, swinging their blades around wildly. "You get Ed!" Kaneda shouted to Al, "I'll hold them off!"

Al nodded, and ran off to get his brother. Kaneda turned to face his approaching attackers. "Okay you bastards…come and get me!" One by one, he figures rushed at him, and Kaneda struck back with all his strength.

At the same time, Al managed to rescue Ed while the figures were distracted. "Nii-san, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ed answered, cracking his neck. Grabbing his spear, he added, "C'mon, let's help Kaneda out!"

They ran over to where Kaneda was busy fighting off several opponents at once.

"'Bout time you got here!" The teen shouted as they approached. "Do you mind giving me a hand over here?!"

"Right…LIGHTING STORM!" Around them, bolts of lighting sliced through the still air and struck the dark creatures, talking out a few of them in the process. The survivors stepped back, hissing loudly.

"Time to finish this! Hellfire Blaze!" Kaneda's final spell wiped them all out instantly. After wards, the teen stopped to wipe his brow. "Phew… okay, now what?"

Suddenly there was a rumbling noise as another huge purple head rose out of the ground.

"Looks like our works' not done yet…!"

The head shook as it spat out dark orbs at them, and the trio attempted to send them back to whence they came. As the head reared back, they struck at it repeatedly until it vanished.

At that moment, Dartz appeared in front of them, looking rather annoyed. "You're still here?" He asked. "Well, I'll just have to take care of that."

"Go ahead!" Kaneda shouted boldly. "We're not afraid of you!"

Dartz smirked. "You should be." And with that, he launched a barrage of dark energy knives at them, one narrowly missing Kaneda's neck. (7)

"Damn. My aim must be off." Dartz muttered. "Oh well, let's try something ELSE!"

With a wave of his hand, purple tendrils burst out of the ground, one grabbing Kaneda's ankle and lifting him into the air. Others soon followed, lifting up Ed and Al, dangling them upside down.

"LET GO!" Kaneda slashed at the tendril holding him up, and he dropped to the ground with a thud. Hurriedly getting to his feet, the teen ran towards Dartz, slashing at any tendril that came his way, and inevitably cutting the tendrils holding Ed and Al in the process.

"Thanks." Ed said, getting to his feet.

"No problem." Kaneda replied, turning to them briefly. "Now let's do this together!"

They all rushed at Dartz again, dodging more energy blades and tentacles, as well as the occasional energy blast. Kaneda and Ed summoned up Moro and Plue (respectively) and had them blast the monstrosity with their attacks, allowing Al to get a few hits in.

The creature flung energy orbs at them, but the group had fought enough enemies with this attack to know what to do, and they simply knocked them back at Dartz and hit him when he was reeling.

With a roar, the abomination struck again, but Ed dodged the attack and slashed at its face, following up with a "Hellfire Blaze" spell.

Then Kaneda took the chance to give the Dartz-creature one final blow. At long last, Dartz reared back and screeched loudly, making a horrible, high-pitched noise that forced the trio to cover their ears. (8)

Then there was a huge flash of light, and when it cleared, Dartz was back to his 'normal' form, holding a hand over his chest.

"It is useless," he gasped out. "The Keyblade by itself cannot seal the door to the darkness." Looking up at the giant door, he shouted, "Anime Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness!"

The doors slowly rumbled open, dark smoke tricking out over the ground. Dartz turned back to the group with a wicked grin on his face, saying, "Do you see that, boy? That is supreme darkness!"

Kaneda just grinned slyly. "You're wrong, old man. I happen to know for a fact, that Anime Hearts… is made of light!"

A huge beam of pure white light burst out, engulfing Dartz's body in its warm embrace.

"Light…but why…?"

Those were his last words before the light vanished and him along with it.

"Come on!" Kaneda yelled, "We need to close the door!" They all pushed on it, digging their feet into the ground. Then Al blinked and looked up.

"What is it?" His brother asked. The boy got his answer as a multitude of Heartless began to appear. "Uh oh! Hurry up!"

Kaneda strained to close the door, gasping, "I don't know if I can…"

"Don't give up!" The teen blinked as Tetsuo appeared from behind the door. "Let's do this together!" And with that, he began pulling on the doors.

They all pushed and pulled, but the doors wouldn't close, no matter how hard they tried.

"Come on...come on…"

"It's no use! They're too heavy!"

"This is bad!"

Just then, the Heartless were suddenly destroyed by a mysterious presence.

They all looked and saw a young man with richly tanned skin, violet eyes, and spiky hair, ebony black trimmed with red-violet and golden bangs, wearing a white tunic, matching pants, and a violet cape appeared. Around his neck was a golden upside-down pyramid with an eye shape carved into it.

"Your Majesty!" Ed and Al exclaimed, recognizing him instantly.

Pharaoh Yami pulled out a golden and white Keyblade, telling them, "Hurry! Let's close this door permanently, so no Heartless can get in!"

Kaneda gulped. "But…"

The Pharaoh just gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry, Kaneda. Rember this-- there will always be a door to the light."

"Yeah, you can trust him." Al added.

"Hurry up! The Heartless are still coming!" shouted Tetsuo.

With one last push, they managed to get the doors to close. Before they did, Kaneda spotted Tetsuo standing behind them.

"Take good care of Kei for me, okay?"

Kaneda nodded, tears in his eyes, as the doors closed, and he got one final glimpse of Tetsuo with his hand raised in farewell before they shut. Then, Kaneda and Pharaoh Yami used their Keyblades to seal the door forever. It glowed brightly before dissolving into a cloud of golden sparkles.

"Kaneda!"

The teen spun around and saw Kei standing behind him. He didn't know how or why she was there, but that didn't bother him at all.

"Kei!" He shouted, running towards her.

"Hey wait!" Ed tried to follow Kaneda, but Al held him back.

Meanwhile, the two teenagers held hands, staring into each other's eyes and not saying anything for what felt like a long, long time.

"Kei, remember when you said you'll always be with me? Well, I'll always be with you too! I'll come back, I promise!"

"I know you will." Kei said quietly.

The ground beneath them broke apart, and their hands slipped out of each other's. There was a bright light, and then Kei was gone, returned to Neo-Tokyo where she belonged.

* * *

All across the universe, destroyed worlds were returning to normal, with no signs that they had ever been gone.

In the Spirit World, or something like it, Chihiro was reunited with her parents, and, looking back, she thought she spotted Haku in the distance, watching her warily.

At the Battle Coliseum, Goku almost effortlessly defeated practically any opponent that came his way.

In Old Tokyo, Kenshin Himura and his friends lived out their daily lives, occasionally fighting for justice whenever the need arose. They never saw Gohei Hiruma again, but that never seemed to bother them.

In Symphonia, Haru Glory took Plue, his girlfriend Ellie and his father back to his home on Garage Island, where they were greeted warmly by his older sister Cattleya and an old man named Shiba.

On Dreamland, things were back to normal as King Dedede tried various methods to get rid of Kirby, falling flat on his face each and every time.

At Station Square, it was similar to what was going on in Dreamland, with Dr. Eggman trying to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog and getting beaten with each attempt.

Meanwhile, in the Monster World, Holly, Suezo, Mocchi, Hare, Tiger and Golem, along with Holly's father, (whom the Phoenix had managed to bring back) were rebuilding the village where Holly grew up. Genki had been sent back to his own world, but the group would never forget him.

On Odd Earth, Bobobo and the gang fought against the evil Hair-Hunters, and confusing the heck out of anyone they met, friend or foe.

Remnants of the lost worlds returned home, none the worse for wear, and pretty much all of them had Shotaro Kaneda and his friends to thank for that.

* * *

Back in Neo-Tokyo, people bustled about, going through their daily routines, ignorant to the fact that their very world had been destroyed. Well, all except for one.

Kei walked down the streets, down towards the old garage. As she entered, her eyes fell upon the spot where the gang had carved their initials and other things. Then she spotted a heart engraved in the metal. Inside it were the words, KANEDA + KEI FOREVER.

The girl smiled sadly, tears running down her face. "See you later…Kaneda."

Outside, countless glimmers of light rained overhead, as the worlds returned to their rightful places.

* * *

Somewhere else, somewhere very far away, Kaneda and his friends walked down a winding dirt road that seemed to stretch for miles like an endless brown ribbon across the emerald green plains.

"Okay, so now what?" Ed questioned.

"Well, we know we have to find Tetsuo and Pharaoh Yami, so… we should start keeping an eye out for any sign of 'em." Kaneda said casually, as he walked with his hands behind his head.

"But where do we start looking?" Al asked.

The group stopped and looked at each other. How _were_ they going to do that? Suddenly, something burst out of nowhere, and knocked Ed to the ground.

"Ow…" He looked up and saw a golden retriever standing over him, something clenched tightly in its teeth. "…Alexander?"

"Hey boy, where have you been all this time?" Al questioned the dog. He got on his knees to reach his level, and saw that the canine had a piece of paper in his mouth. On the paper was a red wax seal with an eye-shape on it. The others looked at it, and their eyes widened in realization.

"That's the Pharaoh's seal!" Morty shouted.

"Hey, do you know where the Pharaoh is?" Kaneda asked.

The dog ran off, apparently wanting the group to follow him.

"Come on!"

And with that, the quartet raced after Alexander, along the road that would lead them into their next adventure.

There is still more to tell, but that's a story for another day….

"_**Remember, Shotaro Kaneda, you are the one who will open the door to the light."**_

**The End (for now) **

**

* * *

**

But wait! There's still more! Stay tuned for the preview of Anime Hearts 2!

1- A reference to the song by R.E.M.

2- Just didn't feel like calling it Behemoth.

3- I won't use all of the memories, just a few.

4- I just didn't feel like describing them all, alright?

5- Remember the Great Leviathan from Yu-Gi-Oh?

6- I really don't know what they mean by an ultimate form, but I'll just go with my imagination.

7- More artistic license here, folks.

8- Don't ask how it can affect Al, it just does, ok?


	17. Deep Dive: Another Side, Another Story

Finally, we have come to the last part of Anime Hearts. It's been a real blast writing all of this, but now the time has come for it to end… until the sequel(s), anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

Anime Hearts 2 Preview- Deep Dive: Another Side, another Story

* * *

_The teenaged boy named Shotaro Kaneda stood in the middle of a crossroads under the starry night sky, unsure of where to go. _

_**Complete silence…**_

_A message in a bottle floated in a body of water, bobbing up and down._

_**Pieces of a tale…**_

_**A place without you…**_

_**The eyes are closed…**_

_On a rocky beach, a man in a hooded cloak stepped out from behind a rock. _

_**Something so real…**_

_In a huge city, a cloaked figure stood alone in the rain. Suddenly, he was surrounded by Shadow Heartless, which were bigger than normal. The figure pulled out two Keyblades - the Promise Keeper and the Infinity- and started to battle._

_**Beyond the memory…**_

_The figure easily fought them off, jumping into the air and slashing wildly, or throwing one of his Keyblades around. He ran up the steps of a building, glancing at the approaching Heartless, and then turned his gaze to a large TV screen above his head._

_**Something so simplistic…**_

_On the top of a building, another hooded figure, this one wearing a blindfold over his eyes stood, watching the battle below. The other figure started running up a wall, with the Heartless called "Neo-Shadows" pursing him. He fought them off, but they kept coming. The hooded person on the rooftop looked downwards._

"_**Where's Kaneda?"**_

"_**We have to find him!"**_

_The first cloaked figure ran up the side of the building, throwing his Infinity Keyblade to the blind-folded person on the top. _

_**Dartz's Other Report: "A creation born out of ignorance"**_

_He jumped of the roof, catching the weapon as he fell, and several Neo-Shadows jumping after him. _

_**After the darkness ≠ Door to the light**_

_The two hooded figures, one running up the side of the building, the other falling towards the ground, passed each other, the running figure now held the Egyptian Key Keyblade along with the Promise Keeper._

_**The Secret Spot**_

"_**I can't remember his voice…"**_

"_**This time, I will fight!"**_

_Passing each other, the two figures briefly glanced at each other._

_**A world in between A place that is forgotten**_

_**The gathering**_

_Shooting stars fell through the sky, a blindfolded figure stood on the rooftop with his arms outstretched, and the person with the two Keyblades stood in the center of a flaming Heartless symbol._

_**The third enemy: Nobody**_

"_**Who or what are Nobodies? They are the nonexistent ones."**_

_The scene seemed to become filled with static as the figure with two Keyblades, which were glowing blue, was seen, then a black and white image of Kaneda falling, a sudden flash of red, and then another glimpse of Kaneda. The Roman numeral "VII" appeared, followed by more words._

_**INFINITY**_

"_**What took you so long Kei?"**_

"_**Can we really do it against that?"**_

_The two men passed each other quickly; a body fell through the sky along with several meteors, a teenage boy held out his hand, the figure with two Keyblades raised his weapons in anticipation. Back on the dark beach, a hooded figure walked to another cloaked person sitting on a rock. There was more fuzz, and then there was a black and white image of Kaneda, then a sudden flash of red, and a black and white image of the falling blindfolded figure. On a dark screen, words appeared. _

_**HEARTLESS**_

"_**We have come for you sir."**_

"_**You are the source of the Heartless."**_

_Yet more fuzz and then a cloaked figure ran up the side of a tall building, and then there was a brief black and white image of Kaneda. Then there was another dark screen upon which the number eight appeared, followed by more words._

_**The Thirteenth Order**_

_**Transformation**_

"_**Kaneda?"**_

"_**Kaneda…Why?"**_

"_**Your Highness! But why?!"**_

_Following that was yet another_ _black and white image of Kaneda. A girl reached out for something, then raindrops were seen hitting pavement. Right after that was a black and white shot of the man on the steps, followed by another flash of the girl – who was now older-looking - staring at a building, and then another image of the cloaked figures passing each other. Then the number five and some words could be seen.__**Changes**_

_**The third key**_

_The blindfolded man fought the Heartless, before the scene turned black and bore the number four and several sentences._

_**The end of the world**_

"_**What is this place?"**_

"_**Is this the answer you seek?"**_

"_**This is the world's true form."**_

"_**Maybe we went through all that for nothing."**_

_A flash of the Heartless symbol in fire could be seen, and then there was brief flash of the girl from before. Then the scene went dark as the number 3 appeared, accompanied by a single word._

_**Utopia**_

_The scene became fuzzy again as the Heartless symbol briefly flashed up, and then four hooded figures could be seen. One had glowing yellow eyes, another had a blindfold on, yet another bore two Keyblades, and the last one sat on the beach. Then everything went dark as a sentence appeared._

"_**We'll do this together."**_

_Yet more fuzz, then the Roman numeral "II" before a cloaked figure jumped down from above somewhere. The figure's hood fell down, revealing a young man with spiky black hair with golden bangs and crowned with red-violet, as well as amethyst eyes that seemed to burn with an inner light. The scene went dark as two words appeared words that only a select few knew what they meant._

_**ANIME HEARTS**_

_Then the words faded away, and the two figures on the beach were seen. The figure on the rock turned to face the approaching figure and spoke, but no sounds could be heard. Instead, they seemed to fade up out of the darkness._

"_**He seems an awful lot like you."**_

_A figure of a teenaged boy was borne across a stormy gray sky before everything went black and one final sentence emerged from the dark void._

"_**It's all coming back to me…the real…"**_

_Then everything faded away, into oblivion._

* * *

Well, that's it. I'd like to thank the folks at Disney and Square-Enix for creating such a kickass game; as well as all of the creators, artists, writers and voice actors who brought all of these awesome shows to life. And of course, you, my loyal viewers, the driving force behind my completion of this story and its eventual sequels.

Until next time, sayonara, minna-san.


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